Middle EastLive'No clarity needed': Pak hints at activating Mecca pact after Houthis attack in Saudi Arabia

Iran War Updates: US-Iran tensions in the Middle East flared up again on Wednesday after the US Central Command destroyed five Iranian oil tankers.

Key points

• While US West Texas Intermediate climbed 1.54% to $94.46, brent crude rose 1.47% to $99.36 a barrel.
• 25 commodity vessels transited the ‌Bab el-Mandeb strait on Tuesday, another major maritime chokepoint in the Middle East, with 11 vessels ⁠entering and 14 exiting.
• This compares with an average of around 27 ships going through Bab el-Mandeb over the past 10 days.
• Among the vessels travelling through the strait were two Suezmax tankers, eight Aframax tankers and one Particularly Substantial Crude Carrier.
• Responded with joint airstrikes that killed at least 20 Iraqi fighters, six Iranian advisers and at least one Houthi official.

10: 02 (IST) Sep 09.

'No ambiguity on Mecca pact': Pakistan problems warning after Houthis attack Saudi Arabia.

As it cautioned that the pact could become operative after Houthi strikes on Saudi Arabia, pakistan remarked there should be "no ambiguity" that an attack on any one of the three members of the newly formed Makkah Defence Alliance would be treated as an attack on all.

Defence minister Khawaja Asif's remarks on Tuesday come hours after Yemen's Iran-aligned Houthi forces introduced a wave of missile and drone attacks on Saudi Arabia, targeting cities and economic and energy infrastructure and injuring at least 73 civilians.

Notably, the minister remarked any unprovoked aggression against a member state, or a spillover of the Yemen conflict into Saudi Arabia, would activate the collective-defence provisions of the agreement signed by Pakistan, Saudi Arabia and Turkiye in Makkah last month.

"There should be no ambiguity; there is no need for any clarity that this is a joint defence agreement, " Asif remarked in an interview with Geo TV channel. Pakistan would honour its commitments to Saudi Arabia under the pact, he remarked.

"There should be no doubt regarding this. We are bound by the terms and conditions of this pact and, God willing, we will honour them in case there is a need, " Asif asserted. 09: 39 (IST) Sep 09. Iran using Iraqi militias, Houthis to target Washington's Gulf allies: Authorities.

Regional authorities and experts say Iran is now using the Iraqi militias and the Houthis to threaten Saudi Arabia and other American allies in the Gulf so as to drive up the costs of the war rolled out by the US and Israel in February.

Meanwhile, the Houthi involvement in the Iraqi drone attack was confirmed by two Saudi authorities, citing intelligence, and a senior Iraqi security official. They remarked Houthi emissaries worked in an operations room run by Iraqi militias.

Saudi Arabia and the U.S. Responded with joint airstrikes that killed at least 20 Iraqi fighters, six Iranian advisers and at least one Houthi official. The death of the Houthi, not previously documented, was confirmed by a Houthi official and an Iraqi militia member. 09: 05 (IST) Sep 09.

Oil nears $100 per barrel as Iran strikes US air base in Jordan.

Oil rates moved closer to the $100-a-barrel mark on Wednesday, rising more than 1% for a fourth straight session as renewed tensions between US-Iran and continued to rattle the crude market.

Notably, the latest exchange of strikes has pushed the conflict into another phase of escalation. Iran introduced missiles towards US targets in Jordan after the US military destroyed five Iranian oil tankers on Tuesday in response to attacks on its warships. 08: 34 (IST) Sep 09.

'Punitive operation': Iran's Guards hail missile attack on US air base in Jordan.

After striking the US air base of Al-Azraq in Jordan, the Iran Revolutionary Guards described the operation as a "punitive strike."

"The 'punitive operation' damaged maintenance and repair facilities, deployment locations and shelters for fighter jets, " state-run IRNA quoted an IRGC official as saying.

Notably, the strikes came after Tehran pressed crews on oil tankers off Kuwait and Bahrain to leave their vessels, warning they "will be targeted", the Guards stated in an official note posted on IRNA. 07: 57 (IST) Sep 09.

After fresh US strikes, iran targets 10 ships, including two US vessels.

Notably, the IRGC remarked Tuesday that its navy had targeted two US vessels and eight oil tankers in the Persian Gulf in response to US attacks on five Iranian tankers. In an official note carried by state media, the IRGC remarked 10 other ships attempting to pass through the Strait of Hormuz were additionally targeted. 07: 45 (IST) Sep 09.

Only six vessels transit Strait of Hormuz as shipping remains below 10-day average.

Six commodity vessels transited the Strait of Hormuz on Tuesday, down from nine a day earlier and below the 10-day average of regarding 12, preliminary shipping data demonstrated on Wednesday.

Notably, the ‌figures ⁠could change ⁠as some ships typically switch off their transponders during the voyage.

Of the six vessels, five were entering and one was exiting, initial data from shiptracker Kpler indicated at 0200 GMT. They included one Panamax and ⁠one intermediate ‌tanker.

Meanwhile, 25 commodity vessels transited the ‌Bab el-Mandeb strait on Tuesday, another major maritime chokepoint in the Middle East, with 11 vessels ⁠entering and 14 exiting.

Taken together, the developments around middle EastLive' No clarity needed' : Pak hints at activating Mecca pact after Houthis point to a situation that is still moving, and the coming days should bring more clarity.