US-Iran war news LIVE: Drones launched from Iraq hit oil pipeline, Saudi says as Middle East tensions rise | Today’s news
US-Iran War News LIVE: As tensions rise in the Middle East, Saudi Arabia said on Friday (local time) that drones from Iraq had hit an east-west gas pipeline, leading to its shutdown. Riyadh has used this pipeline since the beginning of the Middle East war, which links Abqaiq near the Persian Gulf to the Red Sea port of Yanbu, to bypass Iran’s closure of the Strait of Hormuz. The Saudi Foreign Ministry condemned the attack, saying it was “the targeting of the East-West pipeline in the Riyadh and Medina regions by several drones flying in from Iraq, which caused injuries and damage to people”.
Israel-Lebanon talks in Rome scheduled for next week postponed: Report
Axios reported Friday that talks between Israel and Lebanon scheduled to take place in Rome next week have been postponed and will instead take place in October. Citing a source, the report added that Jewish holidays, the Paris conference and preparations for the UN General Assembly meant that participants could not meet in Rome.
The Pentagon’s biggest arms buyer says Congress must act on ammunition
Michael Duffey, the assistant secretary of defense for acquisition and sustainment, said on Friday (local time) that lawmakers must “step up and meet” US President Donald Trump’s administration’s request for $1.5 trillion in funding if the military is to replenish its stockpile of key air defense fighters and deep-strike weapons that have been used extensively in the Iran war. Duffey said: “We have contracts in place; we have acquisition reform in place,” adding: “We need this funding to secure the fighter jet.”
Iranian president hits out at US, Israel, says Tehran stood against them
Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian on Friday criticized the United States and Israel over the war they started in February, accusing them of trying to bully Iran. He said Iran will never give up and will push back. Pezeshkian, who arrived in India on Friday to attend the BRICS summit, addressed Indian religious leaders, intellectuals and businessmen, saying Tehran had “successfully countered Israel and the United States at the same time.”
According to a translation of his speech, Pezeshkian said: “They want to bully us and we don’t want to be bullied. We never kneel before them. If they push us, we push back. They claim to be supporters of human rights. In fact, they are devils who are real terrorists because they killed 168 people, their modern technology killed 168 school children in a single moment, thanks to you, thanks to you their modern technology, beings, bomb scientists and attack schools and hospitals?
Stay tuned to this LIVE blog for the latest updates on the US-Iran war:
