Iran-US war latest: Tehran attacks ships in Strait of Hormuz after US strikes Iranian oil tankers

OPEC+ (Organisation of the Petroleum Exporting Countries and other oil-producing countries) is set to keep its oil ⁠output policy unchanged for October at a meeting on Sunday, two people familiar with the discussions told Reuters, as the producer group needs to agree new quotas before deciding its ⁠next output steps.

The meeting comes ​as ⁠the Iran war continues to disrupt oil exports through the Strait of Hormuz, limiting OPEC+’s ⁠influence over prices and market share. Unlike in the ​past, ⁠the group’s supply decisions have ‌had a limited impact on the market.

In August, OPEC+ agreed its production boost for September, completing a ‌phased rollback of a 1.65 million-barrel-per-day supply ‌cut first agreed in 2023. Despite the agreed production increases, the group made up of the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries ⁠and its allies, including Russia, still produces far below its targets because of the war.

OPEC+ still has another layer of production cuts in place, covering most members of the 21-country group until the end of 2026. Before the group decides how to unwind the cuts ‌and return production to the market, it needs ​to review members’ oil production capacity to set ‌2027 output baselines, which ⁠form the basis for quotas.

This debate will likely ⁠happen later in 2026 and hence OPEC+ is likely to pause ‌its output increases ​for the fourth quarter, sources ‌earlier told Reuters.

The U.S. military says it struck three Iranian oil tankers Saturday, including one off the coast of Kharg Island, near Iran’s key oil export hub.

“Let the message to the IRGC be clear: If you shoot at two of our ships, we will impose an even higher economic cost — taking out three of yours,” said Admiral Brad Cooper, head of U.S. Central Command.

In a statement Saturday, the military said an aircraft carrier and a destroyer evaded “multiple unprovoked Iranian attacks”, and no U.S. personnel were hurt. It said two Iranian oil carriers were “permanently disabled” and the third, unladen one, was destroyed.

The U.S. statement said the tankers were part of a shadow network helping to fund Iran’s IRGC.

The Chancellor has warned that the Budget in the autumn could be tough, as US President Donald Trump’s war in the Middle East affects the British economy.

John Healey issued the warning amid the leap in Government borrowing earlier this week, reflecting concerns among lenders about the inflationary impact of the US’s war with Iran.

Mr Healey also told the Financial Times he would ensure the UK emerges from his first Budget on 28 October with a solid “buffer against uncertainty”.

Economists have predicted that the fiscal buffer Rachel Reeves built up in her last budget, through a combination of tax rises and departmental spending cuts, will be squeezed by the inflationary pressures of ongoing global turmoil.

This could limit prime minister Andy Burnham’s ambitions to tackle the cost-of-living crisis, and spending plans across his wider agenda for Government.

The chancellor told the FT: “What’s happening in the Middle East is hitting inflation, it’s hitting growth, it’s hitting borrowing costs.”

He added: “It’s part of a more dangerous world that is more uncertain and it’s one of the challenges we have to meet in this country, but have to meet with other [countries].”

The ​Israeli military said it was striking southern Lebanon early on Sunday ⁠in retaliation for Hezbollah firing two drones at Israeli soldiers stationed in a part ⁠of the ​region ⁠it has declared a security zone.

The Israeli ⁠military had issued ​an ⁠evacuation warning to areas ‌near a building in Arab Salim town in ‌South Lebanon, saying it ‌will strike it as it is used by ⁠Hezbollah.

There was no immediate comment from the Iran-backed group.

On Friday, the Israeli military said it struck weapon storage facilities intended to ‌be used by ​Hezbollah in south Lebanon.

Since 2 ‌March, ⁠Israeli strikes have killed ⁠more than 4,300 people in ‌Lebanon.

From behind the bars of a brutal Iranian prison, a political dissident awaiting execution describes life behind bars – and says the war with the US has made carrying out executions easier for the regime. Alex Croft reports.

A fuel tanker exploded in western Iran, killing 11 people and injuring seven others, state media said.

IRNA reported late Saturday that the tanker hit other cars before bursting into flames near a traffic police station close to the Kurdish city of Sanandaj, some 400 kilometers (248 miles) west of the capital, Tehran. The report cited a faulty brake system.

The injured were transferred to hospitals.

In 2018, a similar road accident between a fuel tanker and an intercity passenger bus near Sanandaj killed 15 people and injured four.

Road and traffic accidents annually leave more than 17,000 dead in Iran. Experts blame the high fatality rate on unsafe vehicles, disregard for traffic rules, and inadequate emergency services.

President Donald Trump has backed up comments from his vice president and insisted the Iran conflict is a relatively minor operation, rather than a full-on war.

“I call it a military conflict because it’s small potatoes for us,” the president told reporters in the Oval Office on Friday. “It’s not a big thing.”

President Trump claimed the U.S. had successfully stopped Iran from getting a nuclear weapon and alleged U.S. satellite intelligence would spot any future threats from the country the moment they arose. The U.S. had “essentially taken over” Iran, the Republican said.

The question of whether the fight is a war has profound implications.