A cargo vessel was struck by an unknown projectile in the Strait of Hormuz Wednesday, leaving the vessel "on fire and adrift," according to a British military monitor. "All crew have been evacuated with two casualties reported," the U.K. navy's Maritime Trade Operations center said in a bulletin, adding that authorities were investigating the incident. Vessel traffic through the strategic waterway has slowed to a crawl with Iran and the U.S. still quarreling over control of the strait.
As many as 169 people have been reportedly killed in Yemen in the last three days as the Iran-aligned Houthis battle Saudi-backed government forces for control of strategic territory along the Red Sea coast, according to figures provided by both sides in the conflict. Houthi military officials said at least 118 people had been killed in clashes as well as Saudi air and artillery strikes on Taiz, al-Jawf, Marib and Saada provinces since Sunday, the news agency reported, while Yemeni government sources said at least 36 others had been killed. According to the United Nations, at least 28 civilians have been killed and 82 injured since the latest escalation in Yemen began in August.
The figure was reported by the U.N. Human Rights Office (OHCHR) and reiterated during a Sept. 22 U.N. The U.N. stressed that it is not a comprehensive death toll and that the actual number is likely higher because access to information and verification remain severely restricted in Yemen.
A Mahan Air flight from Tehran landed in China's Guangzhou, tracking data by FlightRadar24 said on Wednesday, according to the news agency, on the day Washington had threatened to "shut down" Tehran's carriers and punish anyone doing business with them. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent warned this week that any countries which provided Iranian planes with "landing services" would be "knocked out of the dollar system," but did not give further details. The flight was not listed on the official website of Guangzhou Baiyun airport, which was the location shown as the landing site of the Mahan plane.
Iran's Civil Aviation Agency has said that flights from Tehran to Baghdad, Muscat and Ankara would be cancelled from Wednesday. Around 50% of the damaged production capacity at Iran's South Pars gas field has been restored, according to a senior oil ministry official cited by Iran's semi-official Fars news agency. Ahmad Zeraatkar, Deputy Oil Minister for Planning, told Fars that efforts to restore production capacity began following damage to South Pars facilities early in the war, with some units back online ahead of schedule.
In March, Israel struck South Pars, part of the world's largest natural gas field, spiking global energy prices and drawing a rebuke from President Trump. "By the end of September, around 50% of the damaged capacity had returned to service, and production in this section had resumed," Zeraatkar said. Zeraatkar said the planned restoration targets had been achieved and that all scheduled measures would be completed before the start of winter.
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