Gulf

• The US Central Command issued an urgent alert Saturday concerning Iranian unmanned aerial vehicles operating in coordinated formations near major shipping lanes in the Persian Gulf, marking an escalation in regional tensions. • US Navy destroyers and coalition partners have increased surveillance operations, with officials reporting at least 15 drone incidents detected in the past 48 hours targeting commercial vessels near the Strait of Hormuz. • The escalation follows recent US military movements in the region and threatens global oil supply routes, with shipping insurance rates rising 12% since Friday morning.

With the army’s size halved since the cold war, UK ambitions to be globally deployable do not match the reality, experts say Middle East crisis – live updatesIf Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022 was a wake-up call for Nato, the war in the Gulf has brought some harsh realities home to the British public about the state of the UK’s armed forces.While air defence systems and fighter jets were already in place or deployed relatively swiftly, the time it took to send a single destroyer to Cyprus in the form of HMS Dragon focused minds on Britain’s military readiness and capabilities. Continue reading...

Whatever outcome of ceasefire talks, the region will have to live with a continuing threat from the regime in TehranMiddle East crisis – live updatesGulf nations will seek to add security partners as they rebuild battered economies after the US and Israel’s war on Iran and deal with an emboldened Tehran.The Gulf will have to live with a continuing threat from the regime in Tehran and its remaining missile arsenal. American bases on their soil turned them into targets for Iran, as it retaliated against a joint attack by the US and Israel. Continue reading...

Seafarer tells of ‘impossible’ situation, with strait still so unsafe that crew would not cross even if told to sailMaritime and port workers: how is the Middle East conflict affecting you?‘You can try to minimise the impact that this situation has on your mental health but it’s becoming impossible.” After six weeks stranded in the Gulf, one of the 20,000 seafarers trapped by Iran’s chokehold on the strait of Hormuz is reaching their limit.Yet with the fragile Middle East ceasefire already fraying, the oil tanker worker – who first spoke to the Guardian a month ago – said any hope they may soon be free to leave had already evaporated, if it ever felt real at all. Continue reading...

PM to meet partners in region to discuss effort to ‘support and sustain ceasefire’ and reopening the strait of HormuzSarah Jones, the policing minister, has been giving interviews. She has been talking about Keir Starmer’s visit to the Gulf, but hasn’t said anything that really adds to the (rather limited) information about the visit put out by Downing Street.Jones told Times Radio:[Starmer] is going to the Gulf for a number of reasons. Firstly you will have seen last week with the foreign secretary, and this week with our officials, where we have played a real leading role bringing together about 40 countries looking at the challenge that we have in the strait [of Hormuz] and how we can make sure that opens up as quickly as possible to bring some normality back to that system. so there will be that aspect.He wants to see the work of our brave personnel who are there in the region, of course, with our three very key principles of protecting British interests and protecting British citizens and our allies. He will want to see the work of that. Continue reading...

PM to meet regional leaders to discuss effort to ‘support and sustain ceasefire’ and reopening the strait of HormuzMiddle East crisis – live updatesKeir Starmer is travelling to the Gulf to meet leaders in the region to discuss diplomatic efforts to support the ceasefire agreed between the US and Iran.The prime minister’s visit on Wednesday comes hours after a two-week ceasefire was agreed on Tuesday evening, canceling a self-imposed deadline by the US president, Donald Trump, for Iran to surrender or face widespread destruction. Continue reading...

• The US-led military campaign struck Iran's B1 bridge near Karaj, one of the tallest structures in the Middle East, causing significant collapse, civilian casualties, and outrage in Tehran. • President Trump shared footage of the strike on social media, warned Iran of more attacks, and hinted at targeting additional infrastructure if Tehran does not agree to a deal. • In retaliation, Iranian state media and the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps published a list of eight major Gulf and regional bridges as potential targets for counter-strikes, signaling dangerous escalation.

As Trump suggests Middle East oil disruption is not his problem, experts say talk of US ‘energy independence’ is a smokescreen – with consumers paying the priceA month has passed since the US and Israel’s war on Iran all but closed the strait of Hormuz, through which about a fifth of the world’s oil supplies typically flow. Prices have surged, amid fears of sustained disruption to global supplies.Donald Trump argues this is not his country’s problem. “Go get your own oil!” the president urged countries, including the UK, earlier this week. The US has “plenty”, he added. The US is “totally independent” of the Middle East, the president claimed in a prime-time address on Wednesday. “We don’t need their oil.” Continue reading...