00:00But let's get to our top story.
00:01The U.S. saying it intercepted an Iranian missile attack,
00:05ending a days-long pause in fighting and increasing the risk of a return
00:08to a full-blown war in the Middle East.
00:11In a social media post, Central Command says it successfully intercepted
00:15all of those ballistic missiles launched from Iran against U.S. bases across the region.
00:20The Regional Command also says U.S. and Saudi forces hit back
00:24against Iran-backed militants in Iraq.
00:26For more, let's get to our Middle East correspondent, Abiyah Abu Omar in Dubai.
00:31Abiyah, thanks as always for joining us.
00:33So a few days of calm shattered, just underscoring how fragile the situation is
00:38in the Middle East at the moment.
00:40Can you outline for us what happened and what it means for the chances of a lasting ceasefire?
00:47Yeah, good morning, Paul.
00:48I mean, as you just highlighted, it's not necessarily about the degree of the damage
00:52because the U.S. Central Command did say that it intercepted all the missiles
00:56that were directed by Iran.
00:58But it's just about the tensions or the re-escalation that we've been seeing in the region.
01:03And again, as you have mentioned, we've seen days of calm since Friday evening
01:08when the U.S. all of a sudden stopped attacking Iran after 13 consecutive nights of attacks.
01:14Iran saying on Sunday that it will suspend attacks.
01:17And then this morning or overnight, we saw Iran hitting back on bases, U.S. bases,
01:23in the region.
01:24Central Command saying it intercepted them.
01:26But this opens the way for further escalation or a return to hostilities.
01:31We obviously will wait to see what President Trump says when the U.S. awakes.
01:36But then again, you also mentioned the Saudi story.
01:39And this opens new fronts in the war, Paul.
01:43We've seen the parallel war happening, or the parallel aggression, should I say,
01:46happening between the Houthis in Yemen and Saudi Arabia affecting movement in the Red Sea.
01:52And now we're seeing Saudi and the United States hitting at targets in eastern Iraq.
01:57This is after those militias backed by Iran were reportedly hitting places in Saudi Arabia.
02:03So we saw that action also happening.
02:05So really new fronts when it comes to the war in general affecting the market moves,
02:10as you can see, with Brent prices opened 4 percent higher this morning.
02:17How about Iran and Oman holding discussions over passage of the Strait of Hormuz?
02:22Has there been any encouraging progress there?
02:26Well, that's a good question.
02:28We know that the talks between the two countries are ongoing.
02:31And essentially, our understanding is that both countries are in discussions to open what is so-called
02:36a middle passageway in the Strait of Hormuz now, Paul.
02:40Previously, ships and tankers had to seek permission from Iran to kind of go through the northern part of the
02:46Strait of Hormuz
02:46that is closest to the Iranian borders, not the Omani side.
02:51Ships that were taking different routes were prone to getting attacked.
02:54And so now the discussion is about opening up that middle passageway.
02:57We understand that the talks are still ongoing.
02:59But for the time being, movement in the Strait of Hormuz is still pretty much paralyzed.
03:04Everyone is treading with a lot of caution, especially with the United States maintaining its naval blockade on the Strait,
03:12despite stopping the attacks over on Friday.
03:15And now with this new escalation happening overnight,
03:18an expectation of further strikes by the United States is not really far-fetched.
03:22And so that adds yet another layer of complexity in the...
Comments