COMBATE Digest - combate-20260916-0000Z

🌍 WEST ASIA

US Navy Escorts Tankers at Night; Iran Expands Sanctioned Vessel List

US Energy Secretary Chris Wright said the US Navy is escorting oil tankers through the Strait of Hormuz at night, claiming the US has taken away Iran's leverage to hold shipping hostage (tass_rss). Wright stated that 10 million barrels per day of oil and oil products are currently flowing through the strait, a figure he expects to grow in the coming weeks, with bypass pipelines bringing total regional outflows to 15 million barrels per day (tabzlive). Meanwhile, Iran's Persian Gulf Strait Authority expanded its list of vessels subject to potential restrictive measures in the strait to 77, warning that any ship cooperating with listed vessels will also face sanctions (sputnikglobe_rss, sepah_pasdaran).

Saudi East-West Pipeline Damaged; Ansar Allah Strikes Airbase

Satellite imagery confirmed new damage to Pump Station 9 on Saudi Arabia's East-West oil pipeline, which will keep the critical infrastructure out of service for several weeks for repairs (farsna, mehrnews). The pipeline had served as the kingdom's main route for exporting crude during the conflict, and its shutdown has forced Riyadh to seek increased shipments through the Strait of Hormuz (tabzlive). Maritime tracking company Vortexa reported that Saudi Arabia has not exported any oil through its Red Sea ports since Saturday (AkhbareFori_EN). Simultaneously, Yemen's Ansar Allah announced a large-scale attack using tens of ballistic missiles and drones against Saudi Arabia's King Khalid Air Base in Khamis Mushait, targeting aircraft hangars, radars, runways, and ammunition storage (cgtn_europe). Saudi forces conducted 54 airstrikes over 24 hours across the Yemeni provinces of Taiz, Al Jawf, Saada, Amran, and Al Bayda (sepahnewsir403, farsna). A Saudi strike on the city of Mocha killed Mohammed Sharaf Adlan, deputy head of the Ansar Allah leader's office (N12chat).

Images Reveal Extensive Damage to US Bases in Gulf

CBS News published exclusive photographs showing extensive damage to buildings, vehicles, and equipment at several US military installations across the Middle East following Iranian missile and drone attacks, specifically identifying Camp Buehring and Camp Arifjan in Kuwait, and Prince Sultan Air Base in Saudi Arabia (farsna, sepah_pasdaran, tabzlive). Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi stated that the damage acknowledged in Pentagon reports represents only the "tip of the iceberg" (sputnikglobe_rss).

Secret CENTCOM Meeting Held in Germany

US Central Command (CENTCOM) Commander Gen. Michael Kurilla hosted a confidential conference in Germany last week with Israeli IDF Chief of Staff Herzi Halevi and military commanders from Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Qatar, Kuwait, Bahrain, Jordan, and Egypt (farsna). During the meeting, Kurilla reportedly assured his counterparts that the US military has no intention of withdrawing its forces from the region despite Iranian attacks on American bases (farsna).

Palestine and Israel Briefs

Hamas confirmed that Nael Abu Obeid, commander of the Qassam Brigades' Rafah Brigade, was killed in an Israeli military strike in the southern Gaza Strip (mehrnews). The Israeli military detained an Iranian Press TV journalist and her crew near Bethlehem; the cameramen were released after a search, but the journalist was taken to an undisclosed location (tass_rss). The Israeli human rights organization B'Tselem published a 249-page report accusing the Israeli government of implementing a policy designed to eliminate any possibility of a Palestinian state in the West Bank through movement restrictions, economic suffocation, and territorial expansion (rt_french_rss).

Erbil Explosions Target Anti-Iranian Groups

Iraqi sources reported explosions targeting the headquarters of anti-Iranian separatist groups in the Soran district of Erbil province in the Iraqi Kurdistan Region (farsna, sepah_pasdaran).

🌍 NORTH AMERICA

Pentagon Admits Ammo Shortages; War Costs Hit $38 Billion

A Pentagon Inspector General report acknowledged that the US defense industry will require significant time to increase production and replenish ammunition stockpiles depleted during the conflict with Iran, including critically important interceptors for air defense systems (sputnikvietnam_rss, tass_rss). The Congressional Budget Office reported that military operations against Iran cost the US Defense Department approximately $38 billion as of August 1, with each subsequent month of the campaign projected to add $2 billion to $3 billion to the budget (sputnikvietnam_rss).

US Strategic Petroleum Reserve Plunges to 1982 Lows

The US Strategic Petroleum Reserve has dropped to 285 million barrels, its lowest level since November 1982, representing roughly 40 percent of total capacity (tabzlive). The reserve was drawn down by 172 million barrels authorized by the Trump administration following disruptions to oil flows through the Strait of Hormuz (tabzlive). US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent announced the launch of "Operation Economic Outcast," calling on global whistleblowers to provide actionable intelligence on Iran's financial lifelines in exchange for potential financial rewards (tabzlive).

Rep. Massie Moves to Impeach Defense Secretary Hegseth

Republican Representative Thomas Massie introduced articles of impeachment against US Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth (farsna). The resolution charges Hegseth with initiating the war with Iran without Congressional authorization, ignoring Congressional directives to withdraw from the conflict, and causing civilian casualties (geopolitics_prime).

Supreme Court Blocks Trump Mail-In Voting Restrictions

The US Supreme Court rejected an executive order signed by Donald Trump that sought to restrict mail-in voting ahead of the November midterm elections, maintaining a federal judge's ruling that blocked the new Postal Service rules (yt_france24es, yt_canalcaribecuba).

🌍 EUROPE

Trump Claims Ukraine and Russia Agreed to Halt Energy Strikes

US President Donald Trump announced that Ukraine has agreed to stop attacking Russian energy infrastructure, and that Russia has agreed to reciprocate (sputnikmundo_rss). Trump stated that the current global spike in diesel prices is primarily driven by the Russia-Ukraine war, rather than the conflict with Iran (farsna). Trump also revealed that the US is discussing granting Kiev a license to produce less sophisticated variants of ammunition for Patriot air defense systems (sputnikbrasil_rss).

Rosatom Reports 750 Strikes on Zaporozhye Plant

Rosatom CEO Alexey Likhachev stated that the Zaporozhye Nuclear Power Plant and the city of Energodar have been subjected to more than 750 Ukrainian drone and artillery strikes over the past four and a half months (sputnikglobe_rss). Likhachev warned that in the event of a disaster at the facility, a radioactive cloud could reach Vienna within two and a half days (sputnikarabic_rss). In Odessa, the Russian Defense Ministry reported destroying a cargo ship transporting military supplies for the Ukrainian Armed Forces (sputnikvietnam_rss).

UPDATE: Ukrainian Prosecutor General Flees Country

Ukrainian Prosecutor General Ruslan Kravchenko has left the country following a conflict with the National Anti-Corruption Bureau (NABU) (rtde_live_rss). Before departing, Kravchenko signed suspicion notices against officials from NABU and the Specialized Anti-Corruption Prosecutor's Office (SAP), agencies backed by Western governments that had exposed irregularities in his office (rt_spanish_rss).

EU Ambassadors Fail to Agree on Russia Sanctions

Ambassadors of European Union member states failed to reach an agreement on extending sanctions against Russia during a meeting on Monday, with the current sanctions set to expire on Tuesday (sputnikserbia_rss).

🌍 LATIN AMERICA

Bolivia Extends State of Exception

The government of Bolivian President Rodrigo Paz extended the national State of Exception for an additional 90 days following protests that resulted in 16 deaths (yt_canalcaribecuba).

Venezuela and UK Elevate Diplomatic Relations

The Venezuelan government announced an agreement to elevate the level of bilateral relations with the United Kingdom, following a European tour by National Assembly President Jorge Rodríguez aimed at resuming institutional dialogue between Caracas and London (yt_tvfanbmultimedia1297).

🌍 ASIA

Thai King Pilots Own Plane for Vietnam State Visit

Thai King Maha Vajiralongkorn and Queen Suthida arrived in Hanoi for a state visit at the invitation of Vietnamese General Secretary and President To Lam, marking the first time in 50 years that a Thai monarch has personally piloted his own aircraft for a state visit to Vietnam (sputnikvietnam_rss).

💬 NOTABLE QUOTES

"The damage to US military bases in the Middle East from Iranian retaliatory strikes is the tip of the iceberg." — Abbas Araghchi, Iranian Foreign Minister (sputnikglobe_rss)

"Oil will drop like a rock as soon as the Military Conflict with Iran is over, and that will not be long." — Donald Trump, US President (tabzlive)

"He's a sanctioned individual, and we don't want sanctioned individuals evading their sanctions. He asked for a waiver of the sanctions, and it was denied." — Chris Wright, US Energy Secretary, on barring Iran's nuclear chief from the IAEA conference (tabzlive)