Iran's president tells Trump it will never'bend the knee' Iran's President Masoud Pezeshkian has told the UN General Assembly that it will never bend the knee after almost seven months of war with the US and Israel, but is ready for a diplomatic solution to the conflict. Responding to US President Donald Trump's threat to annihilate the Islamic Republic if a deal is not reached soon, Pezeshkian said: He must know that the resistance of the Iranian people will only increase in the face of sanctions, increased pressure, increased bullying. He also insisted any deal would have to include an end to the US blockade of Iranian ships and ports. It cannot be the case that everyone benefits from the Strait of Hormuz while we are denied access, he said. The Strait of Hormuz, through which a fifth of global oil and gas shipments usually pass, has effectively been closed since the start of the war in late February due to Iranian missile and drone attacks on commercial vessels and the US blockade.

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The IRGC-linked Strait of Hormuz toll authority regained secure web access for four days via Shanghai-based certificate authority TrustAsia, briefly circumventing U.S. sanctions.

Did Iran capture a US submarine? Saudi Arabia's oil exports took another blow last week when drone attacks knocked out part of the country's East-West pipeline, halting oil flow and removing 4-5 million barrels per day (bpd) of oil from global supply. It is unclear how long repairs will take, although The Associated Press estimates three to five weeks, citing two regional officials. The 1,200km (746-mile) pipeline connects the kingdom's main oil-producing fields in the east of the country with Yanbu port on the Red Sea coast in the west, allowing Saudi crude to bypass the Strait of Hormuz, which has largely remained closed since the United States-Israel war on Iran began on February 28. As the world's second-largest oil producer, Saudi Arabia's ability to keep crude flowing has significant consequences for global energy markets.

Iran is deliberately hunting U.S. unmanned surface vessels in the Strait of Hormuz to gather intelligence on American surveillance capabilities, drone experts warn.

Mohammed bin Salman (R) has asked Donald Trump (L) for more military support to counter the Houthis. The U.S.-Iran war has reached crisis point for Saudi Arabia and its de facto leader, Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman. The kingdom was spared the worst of the Islamic Republic's counterstrikes against the U.S. and Israel early in the conflict, and was even benefiting from higher crude prices as it used a land pipeline to bypass the Strait of Hormuz. That all changed when the Houthis started firing at Saudi Arabia on a near-daily basis this month. The Iran-backed militants have also captured more territory in Yemen, where they are based, tightening their control over Bab el-Mandeb, another vital strait for shipping and energy markets.

Iran's oil exports through the Strait of Hormuz face a U.S. chokehold, while a drone attack on Saudi Arabia's East-West Pipeline and Houthi rebels at Bab el-Mandeb add pressure.

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Saudi Arabia has closed a critical oil pipeline after it was attacked by drones launched from Iraq, as conflict in the Middle East widens. Iraq said it had fired a military commander and launched an investigation after admitting the drone attack on its neighbour's East-West pipeline had originated in one of its provinces bordering Iran. The 1,200km (745 mile) pipeline has helped Saudi Arabia - the world's largest crude oil exporter - bypass the Strait of Hormuz. The incident comes amid a major advance by the Iranian-backed Houthi rebels in Yemen, putting more pressure on global oil shipping routes as the US-Iran war stretches into its seventh month. Riyadh on Friday said it had shut the pipeline as a precaution, as satellite images of scorched ground and smoke near the site emerged.

Did Iran capture a US submarine? Saudi Arabia has shut its East-West oil pipeline after a drone attack. Riyadh says the attack originated in Iraq. The pipeline allowed Riyadh to bypass the Strait of Hormuz.