Saudi shipping data show vessel transits through the Bab al-Mandeb Strait slowed over the weekend after Houthi militants attacked a Saudi tanker and threatened further strikes on vessels linked to Saudi ports. Carriers are reassessing voyage security. The Houthis have stepped up attacks on Red Sea commercial shipping, last week declaring a maritime blockade of the strait and warning firms not to load or unload at Saudi ports. Shipping data showed fewer than 10 bulk carriers transited the Strait

Iranian foreign ministry spokesman BAGHAEI said he had expected the new UK government to act more rationally than its predecessor; regrettably, it has followed the same course, and possibly a worse one.

Analysts say Ukrainian forces struck an Iranian merchant ship in the Caspian Sea on July 25; Tehran strongly condemned the attack and summoned Ukraine’s acting chargé d’affaires in Tehran. They assess Kyiv had two objectives. First, to disrupt Iranian military support for Russia: Kyiv has recently stepped up strikes on deep Russian targets—notably energy and logistics infrastructure—which analysts say have harmed Russia’s economy and civilian welfare, while Russia has responded with large-scale drone and ballistic missile attacks inside Ukraine. Second, to help U.S. efforts to pressure Iran in hopes of securing renewed U.S. support: analysts say Washington, long Kyiv’s main military backer, has since President Trump’s second term increasingly pressed Ukraine for concessions to end the conflict, and Kyiv is trying to demonstrate its value to regain U.S. backing.