US-IRAN CONFLICT: WAR AND DIPLOMACY

Chinese entities supplied Iran with satellite images of a base in Jordan before and after an attack that killed three US soldiers, The Wall Street Journal reported — an incident that could deepen tensions between Washington and Beijing.

On July 17, Iran launched missile strikes on the Muwaffaq Salti Air Base in Jordan, which houses US forces. Three US Army soldiers were killed.

The unnamed US officials quoted by The Wall Street Journal did not name the Chinese entities involved, and did not suggest that Beijing was directly to blame.

But US officials have raised the matter with their Chinese counterparts, and it could come up again when US President Donald Trump welcomes Chinese President Xi Jinping to the White House on September 24.

Chinese officials asked for proof of the transfer of satellite imagery when prodded by the US officials, and refused to acknowledge that Chinese companies were involved in providing Tehran with satellite images, the Journal reported late Friday.

Trump has warned Beijing not to sell weapons to Iran, and in May, Washington sanctioned three China-based satellite firms for enabling Iran's military operations.

A meeting between Iran and Gulf states planned for Monday in Oman will be a chance to discuss issues including the Strait of Hormuz, but is not expected to yield a signed agreement over the blockaded waterway, a senior Iranian official said on Saturday.

Iran has been negotiating for months with Oman, which controls the opposite bank of the strait, over a deal that would govern transport through it. Oman has long said its negotiations are supported by other Arab countries in the Gulf.

Tehran announced on Friday that it was planning to attend a meeting with Gulf countries in Oman on Monday. Oman has not officially announced the meeting and other regional states have so far remained silent. Bahrain said on Saturday it would not attend meetings with Iran.

The Iranian official, who discussed the plans on condition of anonymity, said Monday's meeting was called at Oman's initiative, and would provide a forum to discuss other regional issues as well as Hormuz.

Iraqi Prime Minister Ali Faleh al-Zaidi has agreed to an Iranian request for a joint investigation into the discovery of drone launch platforms near the Iraqi-Iranian border, the prime minister's office said on Saturday.

The investigation will examine the circumstances surrounding the discovery of the platforms near the border area, the statement said, after it was used to launch attacks on the Saudi Arabia East-West pipeline.

Bahrain said it will not attend any meeting with Iran to discuss the Strait of Hormuz until diplomatic ties between the two countries are restored, according to state media.

Members of the 11-nation Brics group, including China, Russia, Iran and India, called for calm in the Middle East, in a joint statement issued Saturday at a summit meeting.

"We express deep concern over the continued escalation of tensions in the Middle East/West Asia and, recalling our respective national positions, call for exercising maximum restraint, as well as avoiding actions that could further aggravate the situation," the statement issued in the Indian capital New Delhi read.

Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian met Abu Dhabi Crown Prince Sheikh Khaled bin Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan in New Delhi on Saturday, on the sidelines of the Brics leaders' summit, Iran's embassy in India said in a post on X.

US President Donald Trump said on Saturday that Yemen's Houthi fighters, who have seized a vital shipping corridor linking Europe and Asia, have asked Washington not to intervene.

"The Houthis called us and they don't want to fight with us," Trump told reporters on a visit to Dublin, Ireland.

"They don't want us to go after them."

"He added that "everything's gonna work out fine and dandy," in the region.

US President Donald Trump said Iran was probably responsible for an aerial attack on Saudi Arabia that shut down its East-West pipeline.

"I think they are, probably they are," Trump told reporters in Dublin when asked if Iran was responsible for the attack on the vital oil conduit.

President Donald Trump repeated on Saturday that he believed the war with Iran would end after US midterm elections in November and that oil prices would tumble once it does.

"I think very soon. I think it'll be probably right after the midterms. They're trying to hold out as long as they can to complicate the election. But I think people are wise to it," Trump told reporters in Dublin.

"When that happens, oil prices will come tumbling down."