Oman's FM says Iran-Gulf meeting postponed, Yemen fighting continues

The live blog is now closed and will be back at 8 am BST tomorrow. You can read the latest of The New Arab's coverage here.

150 civilians have been killed in Taiz, Hodeidah and Marib since 3 September, according to Yemen's government, with a further 200 wounded, and 85,000 displaced, including 2,000 to Djibouti.

Israeli reservists have called for the military to expand its illegal operations deeper into Syrian territory, with a senior officer saying many troops would favour advancing as far as Damascus, according to Israeli media.

Reserve officers serving with the Israeli army's 210th Division have criticised limits on the scope of its operations in southern Syria and called for increased activity inside Syrian villages and surrounding areas, Israeli news site Walla reported.

The officers reportedly argued that deeper incursions would help push what Israel considers potential threats further away from its border.

A senior Israeli officer defended the military's current approach but acknowledged the appetite among reservists for a more wide-scale invasion of Syria.

"Would the reservists like to conquer Damascus? Many of them would," Walla quoted the officer as saying.

Saudi Arabia has submitted amendments to the proposal between Oman and Iran over control of the Strait of Hormuz, according to Axios, citing a Gulf official, who added that the current language in the proposal could establish a new status quo over the strait unacceptable to Gulf states.

🚨A Gulf Official tells me Saudi Arabia submitted amendments to the Omani-Iranian proposal regarding Hormuz because it had concerns that the proposed language could effectively establish a new status quo in the strait that would not be acceptable to it or the other GCC states

— Barak Ravid (@BarakRavid) September 13, 2026

A meeting in Oman between Iran and Gulf Arab states, scheduled for Monday to discuss possible agreements on the Strait of Hormuz, was postponed at the request of some regional countries in a decision jointly made by Tehran and Muscat, Fars news agency reported, citing an Iranian foreign ministry official.

Yemen's Houthis said Sunday that Saudi Arabia had launched more than 50 strikes against their positions in 24 hours, after the Iran-backed group claimed a rare drone and missile attack on a military base in the kingdom.

Yayha Saree, the group's military spokesman, said "the criminal Saudi enemy has carried out 58 airstrikes in the past 24 hours" in a post on Telegram.

The Houthis carried out their heaviest missile and drone attack in years this week against Saudi Arabia, setting oil sites ablaze and wounding 73.

The group's Almasirah TV channel reported on Sunday that "Saudi aviation carried out two strikes" on Saada, a stronghold for the group.

It also reported artillery fire in the border district of Monabbih, in the same province.

A meeting in Oman between Gulf countries and Iran to discuss possible agreements on the Strait of Hormuz, which had been scheduled for Monday, has been postponed, Omani Foreign Minister Badr Albusaidi said on X on Sunday.

In the interests of consensus the regional meeting set for tomorrow in Salalah has been postponed. We remain committed to fostering dialogue that supports stability and lasting cooperation in our region 🇧🇭 🇮🇷 🇮🇶 🇰🇼 🇴🇲 🇶🇦 🇸🇦 🇦🇪

— Badr Albusaidi - بدر البوسعيدي (@badralbusaidi) September 13, 2026

Iran and the United Arab Emirates, whose relations have deteriorated since the start of the Middle East war, want to "turn the page", the Iranian president said on Sunday.

"For the first time since the war and the incidents that occurred in the Persian Gulf, we had a constructive exchange with the crown prince of Abu Dhabi," Massoud Pezeshkian said a day after a meeting with Sheikh Khaled Bin Mohamed Bin Zayed Al Nahyan in India, on the sidelines of the BRICS summit.

"It was agreed that we would turn the page, look to the future and build it together."

Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi has said that there will be a meeting between Iran, Iraq and five Gulf states on Monday in Oman. He added that participating countries will be briefed on the details of a new maritime route through the Strait of Hormuz agreed upon between Tehran and Muscat.

Araghchi said that if there is sufficient political will, the meeting could pave the way for future consultations on other issues of concern to the countries of the region.

He sat down with The New Arab's Saber Gul Anbari in Tehran for an interview.

US President Donald Trump said Sunday he does not "care" about a proposed meeting between Iran and Gulf states to discuss the Strait of Hormuz amid the ongoing American conflict with Tehran.

"I don't care. That's up to them," the US leader told reporters during a visit to Ireland when asked about Monday's planned meeting in Oman.

Israel and Lebanon will meet in Rome in October to discuss a US-brokered security agreement intended to ease hostilities along the border, a State Department Official told Reuters.

The continued implementation of the deal "remains the only viable mechanism to restore Lebanon's sovereignty and Israel’s security," the official said, adding that the Lebanese and Israeli ambassadors will meet in Washington next week.

The seventh round of negotiations in the Italian capital ended in August without a breakthrough on key territorial issues.

Hezbollah and Israel returned to war on 2 March amid the wider regional conflict.

Israel's ⁠military is occupying what it describes as a "buffer zone" about 10 km (6 miles) into Lebanon along the entire length of the Israeli border. Israeli officials say the​zone is necessary to protect northern Israeli communities from attacks launched by Hezbollah.

More than 4,300 people have been killed by Israeli strikes in Lebanon since March, according to Lebanon's health ministry.

Houthi media reported on Sunday that Saudi Arabia had carried out two strikes on Saada, in the north of Yemen, a stronghold for the pro-Iran group.

The Almasirah TV channel also reported artillery fire in the border district of Monabbih, in the same province. The Houthis have been engaged in renewed fighting with pro-government forces since Yemen's civil war reignited in July.

Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi told The New Arab on Sunday that Tehran will present the maps of the new routes through Hormuz agreed with Oman. 

An Israeli airstrike on Sunday killed at least two Palestinians in a vehicle and wounded 13 others in the Gaza Strip, medical staff said.

The strike in the Tel Al-Hawa neighbourhood in western Gaza City, left the vehicle mangled, according to footage circulated on social media. Local medical staff told Reuters that they urged people to provide information that could help identify the two people who were killed and whose bodies were dismembered by the explosion.

The UKMTO has said that local authorities are evacuating the crew of a ship attacked in the strait of Hormuz. Tehran had earlier announced that an Iran-flagged commercial vessel was attacked, with one crew member killed.

Iraqi authorities announced on Sunday a timeline to reopen three crossings with Iran, a day after closing them following a drone attack originating from their shared border on a Saudi pipeline.

After the Friday night attack on the East-West pipeline, Baghdad sacked the military commander in Missan province near the Iran border, after authorities determined the drones were launched from there.

The government then closed three crossings, citing the need to reorganise operations and boost intelligence efforts to stop violations.

Two Iraqi security sources told AFP on Saturday that drone launchers were found near the al-Shib border crossing in Missan.

A ship was struck in the Strait of Hormuz on Sunday, killing one person and injuring three, local Iranian authorities said, as Tehran and Washington clash over the strategic waterway.

"A merchant vessel was struck around 5:00 am (0130 GMT) this morning off the coasts of Hengam and Qeshm islands. One person was killed and three others were injured," Qeshm city governor Amir Teymouri said, according to state TV, without specifying the origin of the strike.

Several explosions were reported overnight around Qeshm, the largest island in the Hormuz strait.

The UK Maritime Trade Operations monitor said later it had received reports of a vessel being struck by an unknown projectile while transiting the Strait of Hormuz.