BY SRH
Iran’s IRIB claims a fresh thermal anomaly near a Saudi East-West oil pipeline in Yanbu, implying another attack.
No other information or confirmation has been provided. The Ukraine war has attacked Russia’s Ryazan oil plant, 200 km southeast of Moscow, again overnight, causing a fire.
Oil prices rise more.
US Crude Futures Rise Over $2 to Cross $100 Per BBL on Middle East Supply Concerns, Russian Refinery Outage
Russian oil refinery fire images during Trump-Zelensky dispute over Ukraine’s oil and fuel infrastructure attacks.
Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian reiterated Friday that his country will not submit to force, regardless of Washington’s military coercion or sanctions.
Near the Leaders’ Summit on Biodiversity in Yerevan, Armenia, he spoke. Pezeshkian said US-led sanctions “are beyond humanitarian frameworks and [US] attacks in recent months are unjustifiable and inhumane.”
“Iran is not seeking nuclear weapons, and we consider the destructive propaganda against our country to be lies,” he told Iran’s semiofficial Tasnim News Agency.
Latest Friday, Iran official media reported tanker fire.
We’ve always been eager to talk, Pezeshkian said. They think they can force us to submit, but we won’t.”
In an interview with Newsmax on Thursday, President Trump reiterated his reasons for war, with Iran’s leader responding to his claims that a nuclear weapon would be used immediately. Trump also claimed the conflict would end soon. An interesting exchange with the Newsmax journalist concerned the GBU-43/B MOAB, ‘Mother of All Bombs’ in Iran:
“Well, the mother of all bombs is not nuclear,” Trump replied.
“Not tactical nuclear?” wondered host Rob Finnerty.
No, it’s not nuclear. This is a huge bomb “Trump said. “Like a tiny nuclear bomb. The mother of all bombs is bigger but not nuclear.”
Trump did not specify if he authorized the weapon’s use or identify a target. He stated that the Iran war will soon end. He stated Iran is negotiating with the US and that it will finish shortly. This seems to relate to mediators relaying messages.
Trump’s questionable statement: “They asked us to stop. Because we negotiate with them.” He added that despite Congressional concerns about a prolonged quagmire, he does not anticipate deploying US ground forces into Iran.
Iran has continued to attack international vessels in the Strait of Hormuz, reaching record levels this month.
Iran’s navy said Friday that an oil tanker “caught fire” while crossing a “restricted area” in the Strait of Hormuz.
Iranian navy surveillance teams “discovered and identified a violating oil tanker that had caught fire in the restricted area,” state TV reported. The tanker “turned off its tracking systems and attempted to cross the prohibited area in the Sea of Oman.”
Navy “emphasizes that the consequences of uncoordinated movements in prohibited routes and areas are creating insecurity and many dangers for other vessels,” it stated.
The situation remains stalemated, but the key question is whether Trump has the stomach to take military action before the November midterm elections, as he has threatened.
Iranian strikes on shipping have exceeded two dozen barely half-way through October, yet the US has only occasionally attacked ‘illicit’ Iran-linked shipping in the same waterways.
Gains in Oil Prices
Gains in oil prices refer to an increase in the market value of crude oil. These gains can result from factors such as:
- Rising global demand
- Supply disruptions due to political instability or natural disasters
- Production cuts by oil-producing countries (like OPEC decisions)
- Market speculation and investor sentiment
- Geopolitical tensions in major oil regions
Higher oil prices can impact economies worldwide, affecting the cost of goods, transportation, and inflation rates.