All posts tagged: WTI Crude (Sep'25)

Iran ‘counting the moments’ until it can attack American warships

Iran ‘counting the moments’ until it can attack American warships

Published by Sam Flores

The USS Abraham Lincoln, pictured on Oct. 8 in San Diego, set a U.S. Navy record spending over 260 days consecutively at sea without a port call while playing a key role in Operation Epic Fury and regional maritime security operations in the Middle East. Justin Sullivan | Getty Images Saudi officials said Wednesday that an administrative building belonging to oil giant Saudi Aramco was targeted overnight, as the Tehran-backed Houthi militants step up their attacks on the kingdom. The strike caused a fire, but no injuries were reported at the site in the city of Dhahran on the country’s eastern coast, according to a statement from the Saudi Ministry of Energy. The Houthis, a Yemen-based militia group backed by Iran, have launched a series of strikes on Saudi targets over the past week. Airport attacks in the capital city of Riyadh led to multiple fatalities, flight cancellations and property damage. Riyadh’s King Khalid International Airport remains closed until Saturday. Yemen’s civil war has returned to full-scale fighting between the Houthis and the country’s internationally …

Iran prepares for possible U.S. strikes after midterms: WSJ

Iran prepares for possible U.S. strikes after midterms: WSJ

Published by Sam Flores

Residents continue their daily routines across business centers, shopping districts, and city streets despite escalating tensions between Iran and the United States on October 12, 2026 in Tehran, Iran. Fatemeh Bahrami | Anadolu | Getty Images Iran is reportedly working to bolster its military capabilities in preparation for possible renewed U.S. attacks after the November midterm elections. The Wall Street Journal reported Tuesday that the Islamic Republic has been strengthening defenses around sensitive locations like nuclear sites, and telling regional officials that Tehran will respond to any new U.S. strikes with retaliatory measures across the Middle East. The Journal’s report also said the Iranian regime is preparing its population for war by holding rallies, sending paramilitaries to read war stories to young children and advertising training in firing defensive missiles. U.S. President Donald Trump said Thursday that American forces would not attack Iran before the midterm election, which will take place on Nov. 3. The Iranian and U.S. governments did not immediately respond to requests for comment on the Journal report. Houthi attacks on Riyadh …

Trump considering joining Saudi fight against Iran-backed Houthis

Trump considering joining Saudi fight against Iran-backed Houthis

Published by Sam Flores

U.S. President Donald Trump speaks to members of the media on Oct. 10, 2026 in Washington, D.C. Aaron Schwartz | Getty Images News | Getty Images President Donald Trump said he is considering joining Saudi Arabia in its retaliation against Tehran-backed Houthis in Yemen after a deadly attack on Riyadh’s main airport, a move that could draw the U.S. further into a second front in the Iran war. “We may. We’re going to look at it,” Trump told reporters outside the White House on Saturday when asked if the U.S. would back Saudi Arabian strikes. “We just found out about the recent attack. So, we’ll make a decision. We move very quickly.” Two Saudi Arabian government officials told MS NOW that the kingdom is requesting “urgent defense support” from the U.S. following the attacks. The officials, including a senior member of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, did not want to be identified because of the matter’s sensitivity. They added that the U.S. needs to intervene “as soon as possible” to help the Saudi-led coalition in …

Putin relayed Iran war proposal to Trump, Kremlin says

Putin relayed Iran war proposal to Trump, Kremlin says

Published by Sam Flores

U.S. President Donald Trump (R) greets Russian President Vladimir Putin as he arrives at Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson on August 15, 2025 in Anchorage, Alaska. Andrew Harnik | Getty Images Russian President Vladimir Putin conveyed Tehran’s vision for a possible end to the war in Iran to U.S. President Donald Trump, Russian state media reported Saturday. The report comes a day after Trump said Russia will supply diesel to the global market amid a surge in energy prices caused by the wars in Iran and Ukraine. Russia’s Interfax news agency quoted Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov as saying Putin sent the message to Trump “in agreement with Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian,” according to a Google translation. Other Russian media reports said Putin spoke to Trump by phone after the Russian leader met Pezeshkian on the sidelines of a summit in Turkmenistan. Interfax didn’t elaborate on the specifics of how Iran sees the war — which began on Feb. 28 with U.S. and Israeli airstrikes on Iranian targets — coming to an end. The White House didn’t immediately respond to …

Saudi-led coalition vows ‘firm’ response to Houthi attacks

Saudi-led coalition vows ‘firm’ response to Houthi attacks

Published by Sam Flores

The Skyline of Riyadh is seen on October 31, 2023 in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. Justin Setterfield | Getty Images Sport | Getty Images Three Saudi nationals, including a pilot, were killed in attacks on a Riyadh international airport by Iran-backed Houthi militants on Thursday, Saudi Arabia’s civil aviation authority said. In a statement posted on X Friday, the Saudi Arabian General Authority of Civil Aviation (GACA) said the deaths were caused by two attacks on the capital’s King Khalid International Airport the previous day. The first attack, officials said, targeted the airport’s facilities, while the second aimed at an aircraft belonging to Saudi carrier Saudia. Saudia said in a separate statement on Friday that Captain Hamoud Ali Alkalthami was killed in the strikes. Yemen’s Houthis, a militant group backed by Tehran, claimed the attacks. In a separate statement, the Saudi-led coalition fighting the Houthis said on Friday that it would respond firmly to the militants’ recent attacks, after confirming the destruction of three missile launchers used by the group. “Houthi attacks on civilians and civilian …

Treasury sanctions 17 more tankers linked to Iran’s ‘shadow fleet’

Treasury sanctions 17 more tankers linked to Iran’s ‘shadow fleet’

Published by Sam Flores

Fishermen motor past a commercial vessel anchored off Yemen’s coast at Bab al-Mandeb, in the straits connecting the Red Sea with the Gulf of Aden and the Indian Ocean on September 12, 2026. – | Afp | Getty Images The U.S. Treasury Department is sanctioning 17 additional vessels it says are connected to Iran’s “shadow fleet” used to transport oil and gas out of the country, as Washington tries to choke Tehran’s economy to end the war that began over seven months ago. The new sanctions are part of “Operation Economic Outcast,” the name given to the U.S. pressure campaign against Iran. The new designations are aimed at further limiting Iran’s ability to transport and profit from petroleum and petrochemicals. “Treasury is starving the tyrannical regime in Tehran of the money it uses to wage war in the region, and we will continue exposing those who enable the regime’s oil sales,” Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said in a statement. “No enabler of Iranian sanctions evasion is safe from the full force of Treasury’s authorities.” Read …

Trump downplays Iran deal as U.S. readies renewed strikes

Trump downplays Iran deal as U.S. readies renewed strikes

Published by Sam Flores

U.S. President Donald Trump speaks to members of the media as he departs from the South Lawn of the White House on October 07, 2026 in Washington, DC. Anna Moneymaker | Getty Images U.S. President Donald Trump said Wednesday that he no longer wants a deal with Iran, following reports that the U.S. military is preparing for possible strikes against the country, likely before the midterm elections. “I think the deal isn’t really something that I want to do, but they’re willing to offer us anything to stop,” Trump said at a campaign rally with Republican candidates in San Antonio late Wednesday stateside. Steve Witkoff, the U.S. special envoy to the Middle East, has been working on the deal and “doing very well,” Trump added. The U.S. president and his national security team have discussed possibly resuming large-scale U.S. military operations in the coming weeks, NBC News reported Wednesday, citing a U.S. official and another person with knowledge of the talks. Axios reported earlier in the day that a possible resumption in armed conflict could …

Rubio says Iran passed up ‘multiple’ chances for nuclear deal

Rubio says Iran passed up ‘multiple’ chances for nuclear deal

Published by Sam Flores

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio speaks during a joint press conference with Greek Foreign Minister Giorgos Gerapetritis at the Foreign Ministry in Athens, Greece, on October 07, 2026. Costas Baltas | Anadolu | Getty Images U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio said Wednesday that Iran has passed up “multiple” chances to reach a deal on its nuclear program, as talks between Washington and Tehran over a lasting Middle East peace agreement remain stalled.   “Iran has failed to take advantage of multiple opportunities to reach agreement with us on nuclear program,” Rubio said during a visit to Greece. Curtailment of Iran’s nuclear ambitions remains a critical part of U.S. demands, as efforts to reach a lasting ceasefire agreement between the two sides remain fruitless. Iran indicated there have been “no negotiations” between Tehran and Washington over Iran’s nuclear program, according to a Reuters report. The news agency cited comments by a senior Iranian official involved in indirect talks with Washington, who said U.S. ideas about the program are “at odds” with those of the …

Yemen forces reclaim Red Sea port city of Mokha from Houthis

Yemen forces reclaim Red Sea port city of Mokha from Houthis

Published by Sam Flores

Yemeni security forces escort buses carrying released Houthi-aligned detainees as they arrive in Sana’a on September 12, 2026. Mohammed Hamoud | Getty Images News | Getty Images Yemen government forces said they’ve reclaimed the strategic port city of Mokha from the Iran-backed Houthis, seeking to loosen the militant group’s grip on a critically important Red Sea oil route. In a lightning advance, the Saudi Arabia-backed government said Monday that its forces had taken control of Mokha “following fierce battles against Iranian-backed Houthi terrorist militia” and had captured a number of key locations on the coast around Bab el-Mandeb Strait. Yemen government forces said they had also launched a “strategic offensive” on the country’s capital of Sanaa, which the Houthis have held since 2014. CNBC could not independently verify the claims. The Houthis have reportedly denied that Mokha had fallen. Situated about 75 kilometers (46 miles) north of the Bab el-Mandeb Strait, Mokha is historically known as the region’s chief coffee-exporting center, and the source of the term mocha. Along with other key sites, the port …

U.S. looks to boost Mideast buildup as Trump warns of new Iran strikes

U.S. looks to boost Mideast buildup as Trump warns of new Iran strikes

Published by Sam Flores

The U.S. is reportedly sending a third aircraft carrier strike group to the Middle East, along with an amphibious force carrying 2,000 Marines, raising stakes for an escalation in the months-long conflict. The deployment comes as President Donald Trump has signaled an intention to resume strikes on Iran after the November midterm elections. The USS Theodore Roosevelt group and the Makin Island force have left San Diego, a U.S. official told Al Jazeera. Separately, the Wall Street Journal reported the full buildup is expected to be complete by November. Trump recently told aides that he expects to resume bombing Iran that same month, according to the newspaper. The buildup comes as the war, now in its eighth month, remains stuck in a stalemate. Indirect talks have stalled as Washington rejected Iran’s proposal to reopen Hormuz in exchange for lifting the U.S. blockade, keeping oil prices above pre-war levels. The Saudi-led coalition in Yemen on Thursday accused the Iran-backed Houthis of a drone attack on a Medina power station that supplies the Prophet’s Mosque. Coalition spokesman …