The War Just Opened a Second Front in Syria — and the Houthis Opened a Third Against Saudi Arabia
US death toll hits 17, Brent whipsaws between $91 and $87, and Iran signals it's received mediator proposals for the first time since the MoU collapsed
The war crossed into Syria overnight. The US death toll is now 17. And the Houthis have opened a second front against Saudi Arabia.
Good morning. Steve Moore here, recounting what the last 24 hours did to the region. Iran opened a new front at Al-Tanf, hit US aircraft at Aqaba, and said it destroyed a US radar in Kuwait. Two tankers were struck in the Strait of Hormuz. Brent swung between $91 and $87 as Iran signalled it received mediator proposals, then the Houthis vowed to blockade Saudi Arabia. And the UAE launched its national payment card mid-war.
THE WAR WIDENS
US Central Command ran a ninth consecutive night of strikes on Iran, expanding the target set beyond IRGC command nodes to include transport infrastructure — bridges near Bandar Khamir in Hormozgan province, with further strikes in Khuzestan and on Qeshm. Iran’s Revolutionary Guards said Monday they had opened a Syria front for the first time in this cycle, launching what they called “a surprise attack on the enemy special operations command centre in the Al-Tanf region in revenge for the blood of the martyred soldiers of Iranshahr”.
The IRGC also said it hit US “heavy transport aircraft and command and control aircraft” at Jordan’s Aqaba Airport with ballistic missiles, causing “severe damage,” and claimed it had “completely destroyed” a US early-warning radar in Kuwait. The Pentagon identified 1st Lt Tyler James Feehan, 25, of Ewa Beach, Hawaii, as one of the two US soldiers killed at Muwaffaq Salti Air Base in Jordan; a third remains missing, with recovered human remains still undergoing identification. The US death toll has now reached 17, after a service member was killed in northern Iraq on Saturday during a “controlled detonation” of a downed Iranian drone — a day before the Jordan deaths. Trump, addressing the Jordan fatalities Sunday night, said “those great patriots were out there fighting so that Iran cannot have a nuclear weapon,” and called the latest strikes “in honour of the personnel killed.
A new threat from Yemen.
THE HOUTHIS THREATEN SAUDI ARABIA
Yahya Saree, spokesman for Iran-backed Houthi forces in Yemen, said Monday they will impose a maritime blockade on Saudi Arabia in retaliation for what they call the kingdom’s siege on Sana’a. The threat puts at risk the millions of barrels the kingdom exports via the Red Sea, a second chokepoint risk for a market already absorbing Hormuz’s near-total closure.
Brent rose briefly on the Houthi statement before dropping again, trading 0.4% lower at $87.70 by mid-afternoon London time. US gasoline prices have climbed back above $4 a gallon, a politically awkward number for Trump and Republicans heading into November’s midterms.
The oil market’s day, in one line.
BRENT’S WHIPSAW SESSION
Brent crude September futures briefly cleared $91.42 a barrel on Monday, the highest since 11 June, before paring gains after Iran’s Foreign Ministry said negotiations with the US “could be pursued based on national interests”. WTI touched $85.39 before easing back. Brent posted a 15.9% gain last week, its biggest weekly move since April.
Only four vessels transited Hormuz on Sunday, down from eight on Saturday against a norm of 15-20 daily transits — a 75-80% collapse in throughput. Shipping volumes through the strait are now running at roughly the same level as the height of the conflict in March and early April. Amrita Sen of Energy Aspects told CNBC that a sustained Hormuz slowdown combined with depleted global inventories could push Brent above $100.
Monday brought more diplomatic detail than usual.
A NAMED MEDIATION TRACK EMERGES
Esmail Baghaei, Iran’s foreign ministry spokesman, said Monday that “ideas from some mediators have been conveyed” to Tehran, without giving further detail. Iran’s interior minister, Eskandar Momeni, travelled to Pakistan on Monday. Qatar and Pakistan, the conflict’s main intermediaries, see a return to pre-July 9 US-Iran positions as a first step, according to Iran’s semi-official ISNA — the date fighting over Hormuz began, unravelling last month’s interim peace deal.
One proposal under discussion is a 10-day ceasefire to find ways of reviving that memorandum, Reuters reported, citing an unidentified senior Iranian official. There is as yet no indication of a return to formal talks. Iran’s foreign minister, Abbas Araghchi, said Tehran won’t abandon diplomacy but also won’t be forced back to the table while under military attack, adding in an interview published on his Telegram channel: “Iran’s actions in the Strait of Hormuz and Persian Gulf had global consequences and we became a global player... The region realized that without Iranian security it cannot have complete security”. US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said Iran continues to send signals it wants to negotiate, while reiterating the American view that Tehran’s government is split between factions favouring peace and hardliners who want to keep fighting.
Two tankers were hit while the talks were happening.
TWO TANKERS STRUCK IN HORMUZ
Two oil tankers were struck in the Strait of Hormuz on Sunday into Monday: a supertanker was hit in its steering-gear compartment, and a separate vessel was abandoned by its crew, recovered by a tug, and left adrift on fire eight nautical miles northwest of Kumzar on Oman’s Musandam peninsula. Iran’s IRGC said it halted four unidentified vessels attempting to use an “unsafe route” — two “met with accidents and were stopped in their tracks,” and two “abandoned the route and turned back,” alleging the vessels had been “encouraged by the US military” to use the southern route.
Iran’s foreign ministry renewed its pledge that “not a single drop of oil, gas or chemical fertiliser” will pass through Hormuz until US “hostility” ends. The IMO’s Secretary-General warned of wider maritime-safety implications, while the UAE MoFA repeated its call for “safe uninterrupted navigation”.
A domestic story, launched mid-war.
THE JAYWAN LAUNCH
UAE Vice President and Deputy Prime Minister Sheikh Mansour bin Zayed, chairing the Central Bank board, announced the operational launch of the Jaywan national payment card system on Monday, with banks and exchange houses beginning issuance in stages over the coming months. Jaywan — first announced in 2024 and operated by CBUAE subsidiary Al Etihad Payments — works at POS terminals, ATMs, e-commerce platforms and digital wallets, and supports both domestic and international transactions.
CBUAE Governor Khaled Balama called the launch “a qualitative leap” in UAE payment services. The timing lands amid war-driven fragmentation of global payment rails, with Jaywan positioned as a domestic-settlement hedge as regional infrastructure comes under sustained attack.
Abu Dhabi kept dealmaking through the ninth night of strikes.
MUBADALA AND XRG EXPAND ABROAD
Mubadala Capital signed a tender-offer agreement to acquire French hospitality group Pierre et Vacances, a further push into premium European tourism assets, one day after the sovereign fund opened its $25 billion private-credit book to outside investors. Separately, ADNOC’s global energy and chemicals investment arm XRG announced it is building an Americas platform to extend the UAE’s economic reach.
Even with Hormuz closure now at Day 141, Abu Dhabi’s sovereign wealth vehicles are moving into overseas hospitality, private credit and Americas energy infrastructure while the near-term war dominates screens.
Israel is watching closely.
ISRAEL’S WARNING SHOT
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was due to convene defence chiefs Monday evening over the Iran tensions, security cabinet member Eli Cohen said in a radio interview. “If Iran makes the mistake of attacking the State of Israel, we’ll respond with a might surpassing that of the last campaign,” Cohen told Army Radio.
The US is sending more warplanes to the Middle East, including F-35 and F-16 fighter jets and aerial-refuelling aircraft, the New York Times reported, citing US officials. Iran’s Parliament Speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf posted on X: “The Americans keep bringing new military equipment into the region while claiming they want to stop the war. We have become experts at recognising these American tactics and have prepared accordingly.”
Kuwait absorbed another hit.
UTILITIES UNDER FIRE
Kuwait confirmed Iranian drone and missile strikes damaged a power-generation and water-desalination complex in Al Shuaiba on Sunday, with a fire brought under control by six teams supported by the Army and National Guard; no injuries were reported. Kuwait’s main state energy company separately said an unspecified site sustained “significant material losses,” causing evacuation and a number of injuries. Bahrain confirmed further interceptions Monday, with sirens sounding across Manama and Muharraq. Jordan confirmed it shot down further Iranian missiles Monday morning.
The GCC and EU issued a joint statement at Saturday’s High-Level Forum on Regional Security and Co-operation in Brussels condemning Iran’s attacks on neighbours and commercial vessels and stressing that freedom of navigation through Hormuz “was protected under international law.” Egypt reiterated its condemnation of the “dangerous escalation” on Monday.
WATCH TODAY
The Houthi blockade. Whether Saree’s threat against Saudi Arabia becomes operational, and how quickly Riyadh and the Gulf respond given the Red Sea’s role as an alternate export route while Hormuz stays shut.
The mediation channel. Whether Momeni’s Pakistan trip and Baghaei’s “ideas conveyed” language crystallise into a formal 10-day ceasefire proposal, and whether Qatar publicly confirms the pre-July 9 reset framework.
Hormuz throughput. Whether transits stay in single digits Tuesday, whether the burning vessel off Kumzar is confirmed to a specific hull and flag, and whether Brent settles above or below $88 in the Asia open.
Israel’s posture. Outcome of Netanyahu’s Monday evening defense meeting, and whether Cohen’s warning translates into any visible military repositioning.
The ADX open. First Gulf session after Reuters flagged a broader bourse retreat, following Monday’s news cycle of Mubadala, XRG and Jaywan announcements.
That’s where it stands this morning. Thoughts, tips, corrections — my inbox is always open, and I read everything that lands in it.
We’ll be back at 7:30 tomorrow morning, counting whatever the next 24 hours bring.
— Steve
Steve Moore
Emirates Wire · launching 9 September 2026, National Liberal Club, London
emirateswire.co.uk · steve@emirateswire.co.uk