Trump says Iran 'probably' responsible for attack on Saudi East-West pipeline

An understanding between Iran and Oman does not call for the immediate reopening of the Strait of Hormuz, but instead lays out a framework under which the strategic waterway could eventually reopen, according to Reuters.

Reuters, citing an Iranian source who spoke to the semi-official Tasnim news agency, reported Saturday that any reopening would depend entirely on the United States meeting Tehran’s conditions.

The source said the arrangement would also represent a step toward Iran exercising sovereignty over the strait.

The report comes as Iranian officials continue to insist that Washington must meet Tehran’s demands before negotiations can resume, while U.S. forces maintain a blockade of Iranian ports.

U.S. Central Command (CENTCOM) said Saturday that American forces have redirected 100 commercial vessels over the past 60 days as part of the blockade and that “ZERO ships have passed through the blockade without U.S. forces allowing.”

Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian insisted Saturday that his country is not at war with Saudi Arabia following an attack on a key oil pipeline, a report said.

“We are not at war with Saudi Arabia. The Houthis have their own issues,” Pezeshkian told India Today TV on the sidelines of the BRICS summit, according to Iran International.

“I have repeatedly said that all the countries of the region should sit down together and establish peace and security in the region,” Pezeshkian reportedly added. “There is no logic or reason for us to be at war or in conflict with one another.”

However, President Donald Trump said he suspects Iran is behind Friday's attack on Saudi Arabia's East-West pipeline. Iran supports Yemen's Houthi rebels, who have been clashing with Saudi Arabia.

Former NAVY Seal and author Jack Carr told Fox News’ “Saturday in America” that adversaries like China and Russia “have a vested interest in seeing us continue to get bogged down in the Middle East.” 

Carr made the comment after The Wall Street Journal reported Friday that Iran obtained high-resolution satellite images from China of a U.S. military base in Jordan prior to an attack there in July that left three U.S. troops dead. 

“They are learning lessons. Russia, North Korea, China are all learning lessons from what we're doing in Iran right now,” Carr said. “Have we learn to use our military effectively and efficiently? What do we take from the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, applying those lessons going forward here? There's a direct line between how we left Afghanistan, of course, and Russia's invasion of Ukraine.” 

“So now this is a very critical point right here. Can we get that political outcome that we want, all the things that we wanted in February in talks with Iran?” he added. “Can we get those through the application of military force? Or are we going to get bogged down again, which allows China and Russia specifically more freedom of movement to achieve their geopolitical goals.” 

Chinese President Xi Jinping called on the BRICS alliance Saturday to act as peacemakers in the Middle East, according to a report from Reuters. 

The war involving Iran "does not serve the common interests of the international community,” Xi reportedly said. 

The remarks come after Iran's Foreign Ministry said Friday that Tehran is seeking to strengthen coordination and expand cooperation with China as regional tensions continue to rise. 

Foreign Ministry spokesperson Esmaeil Baghaei said Iranian and Chinese leaders want their strategic partnership to advance the national interests of both countries, according to remarks carried by Iranian state television. 

The BRICS alliance was established in 2006 by founding members Brazil, Russia, India and China, and has since expanded to include nations such as Iran, Egypt, Ethiopia, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates.  

Fox News Digital's Brittany Miller and Kyra Colah contributed to this post. 

U.S. Central Command announced Saturday that the ongoing military blockade of Iranian ports has redirected 100 ships. 

“CENTCOM forces have redirected 100 commercial vessels over the past 60 days since America resumed the steel wall blockade against Iran,” it wrote on X. 

“ZERO ships have passed through the blockade without U.S. forces allowing,” CENTCOM added. “American service members remain laser focused on this mission.” 

Pakistan, a key mediator between the U.S. and Iran during Operation Epic Fury, said Saturday that it “strongly condemns” the drone attacks that targeted the Saudi Arabia East-West oil pipeline. 

The country’s foreign ministry issued a statement saying the “reprehensible drone attacks” caused damage to the pipeline and “injuries to civilians.” 

“Pakistan has been and will continue to make earnest efforts for achieving lasting peace and stability in the region,” it added. 

President Donald Trump said Saturday that he suspects Iran was responsible for the attack on the Saudi pipeline.

Iraq shut down two border crossings into Iran on Saturday after officials in a province bordering Iran determined that the attack against a Saudi oil pipeline was launched from that area, a report said.

Iraq’s state-run news agency reported that Iraqi officials were at the border, investigating previous “violations and infractions” at the crossings, according to The Associated Press.

Iraqi Prime Minister Ali al-Zaidi said earlier Saturday that he'd ordered an investigation into the operations command of Maysan province and dismissed the province's commander. His office later said the provincial police chief was also dismissed.

Saudi Arabia shut down the major, cross-country East-West oil pipeline on Friday, saying it was a “precautionary measure."

The Saudi Foreign Ministry blamed the attacks on several drones that came from Iraq and, in a statement, said the kingdom would not retaliate to give the Iraqi government “an opportunity to take the necessary measures.”

Authorities determined that attacks targeting Saudi Arabia were launched from a site in Maysan province, the AP reported.

The Associated Press contributed to this post. 

U.S. Central Command released new images Saturday showing U.S. Marines training on the flight deck of the USS Portland, an amphibious transport dock ship, as it sailed in the Arabian Sea. 

American military assets remained stationed around the Middle East Saturday as CENTCOM is enforcing a blockade of Iranian ports. 

CENTCOM said earlier this month that “more than 50,000 U.S. service members are currently operating across the Middle East and remain vigilant, lethal, and prepared to continue executing operations directed by the Commander in Chief.” 

Bahrain said Saturday that the targeting of Saudi Arabia’s East-West oil pipeline is an “attack on vital civilian infrastructure affecting the security of energy supplies.” 

“The Kingdom of Bahrain strongly condemned the targeting of the East-West oil pipeline in the Riyadh and Madinah regions of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia by drones launched from Iraqi territory, which resulted in injuries and property damage,” the Bahrain News Agency said. 

“In a statement, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs described the attack as a blatant violation of international law, the Charter of the United Nations and the principles of good neighborliness, as well as an attack on vital civilian infrastructure affecting the security of energy supplies,” it added. 

The Bahrain News Agency cited the foreign ministry as calling “on the international community to assume its responsibilities in confronting such attacks that seek to undermine energy security and destabilize regional security and stability.” 

President Donald Trump said Saturday that the world is seeing how powerful the U.S. military is during the war with Iran. 

“Everyone is seeing the dominance of the American military equipment all over the planet. And you see it now with Iran. We took over the Hormuz Strait. We cleared out all the mines,” Trump said while visiting Ireland. 

“Even I said, ‘well, how come they're not shooting down our minesweepers?’ ‘Sir, these minesweepers are underwater. They work underwater at all times,’” Trump continued. “I say, ‘why do you do that?’ ‘Well, generally speaking, when there's mines, there's a lot of hostility outside.’ You know, I said ‘that makes sense, right’? In other words, if there are mines in some water way, generally speaking, when you see there are mines or people shooting at you. So if you're underwater, they don't know you're there.” 

“But we knocked out and we took out every mine. There's no mines in there, no nothing,” the president added.  

The State Department's Rewards for Justice program on Friday announced rewards of up to $10 million for information leading to several senior al-Qaeda leaders the U.S. says are based in Iran.

The announcement, released on the 25th anniversary of the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks, names Sayf al-Adl, Abd al-Rahman al-Maghrebi and Yasin al-Suri among those sought.

"These individuals are senior leaders within al-Qaida, which utilizes Iran as a safe haven to execute violent attacks against the United States and its allies," the Rewards for Justice program said in a post on X.

The agency said anyone with information on the men can submit tips through its secure reporting channels and may be eligible for monetary rewards and relocation assistance.

The announcement comes as the Trump administration continues to increase pressure on Iran through military operations, sanctions and efforts to target the country's financial and energy networks.

Yesterday's Fox News Digital live blog offers additional coverage of the conflict with Iran.

President Donald Trump said Saturday that he believes Iran is behind attacks that forced the closure of Saudi Arabia’s East-West oil pipeline. 

Saudi Arabia said Friday that drones launched from Iraqi territory struck the East-West Pipeline, prompting the kingdom to shut down the critical oil artery as a precaution. 

“I think they are, probably they are,” Trump said in Ireland on Saturday when asked if he thinks Iran is responsible for the attacks, which come as Iran-backed Houthi rebels in Yemen are clashing with Saudi Arabia. 

“The Houthis called us and they don’t want to fight with us. They let us know, they don’t want  to fight with us...they don’t want us to go after them,” Trump added. “But they have called and they have talked to us, and they don’t want us to, they would much prefer not having us involved.”

Fox News Digital's Brittany Miller contributed to this post.

President Donald Trump said Saturday that he thinks the war with Iran will end “very soon,” likely after the midterms, while accusing Tehran of trying to prolong the conflict to “complicate the election.”

“I think very soon, I think it will be, probably, right after the midterms,” Trump said in Ireland when asked if he would put an end date to the conflict. 

“They are trying to hold out as long as they can to complicate the election but I think people are wise to it because Iran cannot have a nuclear weapon. It’s very simple.” 

“They were two weeks away from having a nuclear weapon. If they had it, they would have blown up Israel, they would have blown up the Middle East, and they would have hit some of Europe’s, in my opinion, Europe’s cities and beyond cities,” Trump also said. “And they would have probably hit us too before we put out the fire. But they cannot have a nuclear weapon.”