US-Iran War Highlights: US Senate to vote on war powers resolution as Republicans question Trump over rising fuel prices

All flights operated by Iranian airlines to the UAE were cancelled from midnight Wednesday, according to Iranian state media.

No Iranian flights were scheduled between Dubai’s two airports and Tehran’s Imam Khomeini International Airport on Thursday.

The UAE’s General Civil Aviation Authority confirmed the suspension until further notice, citing the US ban.

Recent US Treasury sanctions expose airport operators and companies providing refuelling and other services to Iranian carriers to possible secondary sanctions. (Bloomberg)

Tehran offers to reopen Hormuz in return for Trump lifting economic blockade.

Negotiators in New York are discussing a possible step-by-step arrangement to end the nearly seven-month conflict.

Iran could reopen the strategic waterway to navigation in exchange for Washington lifting its economic blockade.

Tehran wants the US blockade eased and could potentially seek access to frozen Iranian assets as part of a deal. (Reuters)

Senators are set to vote on a resolution seeking to halt President Donald Trump’s military action against Iran.

The vote could be lawmakers’ final opportunity to formally register their position on the Iran war before the November midterm elections.

More Republican senators are beginning to distance themselves from Trump as the conflict drags on and fuel prices remain elevated.

Democratic Senator Tim Kaine of Virginia has pushed the war powers resolution forward, accusing lawmakers of ignoring voters’ concerns.

Republican Senator Thom Tillis of North Carolina said he would support the resolution, citing the need to “break the cycle.”

Rising energy costs have become a major political issue. Diesel prices topped $6 a gallon, according to AAA.

Republican Senator John Kennedy said Trump should deliver a prime-time speech explaining the Iran war strategy and its intended endgame.

Brent rose $4.10, or 4%, to $107.18 a barrel, while WTI gained 4% to $95.82, after Yemen’s Iran-backed Houthis launched missiles towards Saudi Arabia, while diplomatic efforts between Washington and Tehran showed little progress.

Brent was on track to close at its highest level since September 15 after rising about 8% over the previous two sessions.

Saudi Arabia said six ballistic missiles targeting Yanbu and Taif were intercepted on Thursday.

Yanbu is a key Saudi port on the Red Sea, while Taif is in southwestern Saudi Arabia.

There was no immediate claim of responsibility from the Iran-backed Houthis in neighbouring Yemen.

The Houthis have been blamed for attempted attacks on Saudi Arabia in recent days, including attacks targeting Riyadh.

The Associated Press said it could not immediately independently verify the Saudi military's claim.

Saudi Maj. Gen. Turki al-Malki, spokesperson for the Saudi-led coalition, announced the interceptions.

Iran’s latest diplomatic outreach to the United States has drawn criticism from hardliners at home, with lawmakers seeking to impeach Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi over his meetings with US officials in New York.

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Oil prices rose more than 1% on Thursday as diplomatic talks between the US and Iran showed little sign of progress, while investors focused on uncertainty about a potential US ban on diesel exports.

Brent crude futures were up $1.63, or 1.58%, at $104.71 a barrel at 1200 GMT, while West Texas Intermediate futures were up $1.34, or 1.49%, at $93.53 a barrel.

Brent rose to as high as $106.50 earlier in the day, following reports suggesting Iran gave the US one week to meet its publicly stated demands, such as lifting the US naval blockade.

Iran and the US remain divided over how to end their conflict, but diplomacy must continue, a senior Iranian official told Reuters on Wednesday, after Iran's president told the UN General Assembly that Tehran would never surrender to US pressure.

— Reuters

Iranian media reported that flights operated by Iranian airlines between Iran and the United Arab Emirates have been cancelled following the imposition of new US sanctions.

ISNA news agency said all Iran-UAE flights had been suspended from midnight on Wednesday.

The cancellations came after US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent announced that sanctions would target the global operations of Iranian airlines from September 23, prompting several countries to take action.

Iranian airlines continued to operate international flights on Wednesday despite a US deadline aimed at grounding the country’s aviation fleet through sanctions on companies providing services to the carriers.

Hours after the new US restrictions took effect, flight-tracking website Flightradar24 showed around six flights departing Iran for destinations including Bangkok and Phuket in Thailand, Shanghai in China and Kabul in Afghanistan.

Tehran’s Imam Khomeini International Airport, Iran’s largest airport and primary international hub, also continued to list scheduled flights to destinations including China, Turkey, Dubai and Najaf in Iraq.

The UN rights chief is "appalled" by the growing civilian toll in the Yemen conflict, his office said Thursday, with at least 125 civilians killed and wounded in attacks by the Iran-backed Houthis since the start of August.

"As if the people of Yemen haven't already endured enough misery, civilians are now bearing the brunt of this latest upsurge in fighting," the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Turk said in a statement, insisting that "civilians must never be targeted, and their protection must be the overriding priority".

— AFP

An adviser to Iran's supreme leader Mojtaba Khamenei warned on Thursday that Tehran may expand the Middle East war to the Indian Ocean if the US or Israel attacks again.

"Since the conflict has spread from the Persian Gulf and Strait of Hormuz to the Red Sea, it is possible that, in response to more war, the front will expand even further, reaching the Indian Ocean and perhaps beyond," said Yahya Rahim Safavi in a video released by Iran's Fars news agency.

The UK is tightening sanctions on Iranian banks as part of the US-led economic pressure campaign aiming to force Tehran into signing a deal to end the conflict in the Middle East, Bloomberg has reported.

New license applications made by the designated banks operating in the UK will be automatically rejected under a new approach imposed by Britain’s Treasury. Chancellor of the Exchequer John Healey has also decided not to renew an existing general license covering Iranian banks when it expires next month, UK Treasury officials told Bloomberg.

The Iranian banks include Bank Sepah, Melli Bank plc, Bank Saderat, Persia International Bank and Bank Tejarat.

China’s Foreign Ministry spokesperson Guo Jiakun said at a regular press briefing that the continued delay in the US-Iran conflict does not serve the common interests of the parties involved or the international community, and that the relevant parties should stick to a peaceful option and resolve disputes through dialogue and negotiations to restore peace and stability in the Middle East Gulf region as soon as possible.

US President Donald Trump said on Wednesday evening that he would discuss Iran with Chinese President Xi Jinping at the White House on Thursday. “I’ll be talking about that and many other subjects, but it’s all coming along, including that,” Trump told reporters.

Ten commodity vessels transited the Strait of Hormuz on Wednesday, up from seven a day earlier and below the 10-day moving average of about 17, preliminary shipping data showed on Thursday.

The figures could change as some ships switch off their transponders during the voyage, Reuters reported.

Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian stressed the need for the country to have defense power for defense, saying the defense capabilities are intended to protect the country's survival and development.

Addressing the 81st session of the United Nations General Assembly in New York, Pezeshkian also said that Iran's military actions were carried out in self-defense.

“We are not terrorists; we are victims of terrorism,” Pezeshkian said.

Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha said Wednesday that he and his Iranian counterpart Abbas Araqchi had agreed to keep communication channels open after discussing ways to prevent further tensions between their countries on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly in New York.

“Diplomacy is about direct conversation, even in challenging circumstances,” Sybiha said in a post on X.

“Our conversation focused on mutual steps to prevent further aggravation of tensions between our countries. We agreed to keep existing channels of communication open.”

Tensions had mounted between the two sides in July after Ukraine launched a long-range drone operation to strike two Iranian cargo ships and a Russian missile boat in the landlocked Caspian Sea.

Hundreds of trucks are queuing up along the road into Iran from Turkey, the countries' largest crossing as trade moves overland due to the US Navy blockade of Iranian ports, AP has reported. Iran’s land crossings with Turkey to the west and Pakistan to the east are crucial in connecting with Europe and Asia. Drivers carry goods that are vital to Iran’s petrochemical and other manufacturing that were badly damaged by US and Israeli strikes.

At Turkey's Gürbulak border, truck waiting times have more than quadrupled since the war began, according to data from the International Transporters Association, which represents Turkey’s international logistics sector, the report added.

The US CENTCOM on Wednesday ( local time) said it had redirected 115 commercial vessels under its renewed naval blockade of Iran, highlighting the growing pressure on maritime traffic as Washington seeks to restrict trade with Tehran.

US Central Command said in a post on X that, as of September 23, its forces had redirected 115 commercial vessels while enforcing what it calls America's “steel wall blockade.”

The United Arab Emirates' central ‌bank on Wednesday barred Iran's Bank Melli from operating in the Gulf state, Reuters has reported. The central bank said the move ​was prompted by breaches of regulatory requirements. According to the report, the action follows the UAE's decision in August to suspend ​all trade, commercial exchanges and financial transactions with Iran until further notice.