Iranian missile strike in Kuwait injured Americans, damaged US drones – Bloomberg

House of Saud, a geopolitical analysis and intelligence outlet focused on Saudi Arabia, reported that Iran’s wartime management of the Strait of Hormuz has created a tiered access system that pressures Saudi crude exports while allowing some regional partners to keep moving through the waterway.

The outlet said Iran’s Persian Gulf Strait Authority charges Chinese-linked vessels up to $2 million per transit to move Saudi crude through Hormuz, while Indian-flagged tankers are allowed through free under a bilateral arrangement.

According to the analysis, the system is not a full closure of Hormuz but a managed-access regime with three tracks: exemptions for countries such as India, Iraq and Pakistan; tolls for Chinese-linked operators; and enforcement exposure for vessels that do not comply.

House of Saud said the main effect has been on Saudi Arabia’s oil relationship with China, citing market data showing Saudi crude exports to China have fallen by more than 60 percent since the start of the war.

The report said Iran’s approach has made Saudi crude less competitive for Chinese refiners by adding toll, insurance and sanctions-related costs, while Russian pipeline crude reaching China avoids Hormuz entirely.

It also said Saudi Arabia has redirected much of its India-bound crude through the East-West Pipeline to the Red Sea terminal at Yanbu, reducing reliance on Hormuz for that trade. But the outlet argued that the route creates a new concentration risk because it cannot carry all Saudi output and could itself become vulnerable if the conflict expands.

House of Saud said the US Treasury’s recent designation of the Persian Gulf Strait Authority adds another layer of pressure by raising sanctions risks for companies or states dealing with Iran’s Hormuz system.

Hardline Iranian lawmaker Hamid Rasaee criticized Parliament Speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf over negotiations with the United States, saying hopes for talks with Washington were misplaced.

In a message posted on his Telegram channel and addressed to Ghalibaf, who is also leading Tehran’s negotiating team, Rasaee said relying on negotiations with the United States was a mistake.

“Mr. Ghalibaf, placing hope in negotiations with America is wrong,” Rasaee wrote. “Zarif and Rouhani, who were masters of concessions and surrender in negotiations, did not get even a straw through talks. Do not repeat the mistake.”

Rasaee referred to Ghalibaf’s earlier position before the Pakistan-mediated talks began, saying he had made negotiations with the United States conditional on two issues: a ceasefire in Lebanon and the return of blocked Iranian assets.

“The money did not come back, and you have surely heard about the situation in Lebanon,” Rasaee wrote.

He claimed that Shqif Castle and the village of Arnoun in Lebanon had fallen, and said Nabatieh province and the Eqlim al-Tuffah area were at risk. He also said important facilities around Nabatieh, including what he described as strategic missile cities, were located in the area.

US Central Command (CENTCOM) shared an image on Friday of a US Air Force F-16 Fighting Falcon flying over the Middle East during what it described as a patrol mission.

“US forces remain present and vigilant across the region,” CENTCOM said in a post on X accompanying the image.

US Secretary of War Pete Hegseth said President Donald Trump recently told cabinet members that Iran could either accept a deal ensuring it does not obtain a nuclear weapon or face the alternative represented by the Pentagon chief.

“We were in a cabinet meeting just a couple of days ago, and the president said, ‘Hey, it will be a great deal,’” Hegseth said at the Shangri-La Dialogue security forum in Singapore on Friday. “And if Iran doesn’t want to make a great deal that ensures they don’t get a nuclear weapon, they can deal with the guy on my left.”

A vocal faction of Iranian hard-liners is seeking to derail negotiations with the United States as the two sides move closer to a potential agreement, according to a report by The New York Times.

The report said hard-line figures in parliament, state media and the Supreme National Security Council have publicly opposed concessions to Washington through rallies, media campaigns and political pressure, despite support for the talks from Iran’s leadership.

According to the newspaper, President Masoud Pezeshkian recently criticized state television for portraying negotiations as a failure and deepening divisions, while Iran’s negotiating team has continued discussions with the United States.

The report cited analysts and officials as saying the hard-line camp represents a minority view but retains influence within parts of the political establishment and among supporters of the Islamic Republic. It also described tensions between hard-line figures and members of the negotiating team over the direction of talks with Washington.