AJ
Developing news from the US/Israel/Iran situation was limited on Wednesday 13 May, mainly due to President Trump’s visit to China, although some officials had made statements to the media, while Israel published confirmation PM Netanyahu visited UAE, but the UAE denied it, and information surrounding the Strait of Hormuz.
NETANYAHU VISITED UAE – OR DID HE?
Israel’s Prime Minister’s Office announced on Wednesday that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu secretly travelled to the UAE during the Iran war for talks with UAE President Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed, in a meeting described as leading to an ‘historic breakthrough’ in ties between the two countries, Ynet reported.
Reuters reported that Netanyahu and bin Zayed met in Al-Ain, an oasis city by the Oman border, on 26 March, in a meeting that lasted several hours, while Mossad Chief David Barnea made at least two visits to the UAE during the war against Iran to coordinate military actions.
Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi took to X on hearing the news, saying that Netanyahu had now publicly revealed what Iran’s security services long ago conveyed to the leadership: “Enmity with the Great People of Iran is a foolish gamble,” the FM said, stating that collusion with Israel was unforgiveable: “Those colluding with Israel to sow division will be held to account,” he added.
Despite PM Netanyahu’s office confirming the secret visit to the UAE, officials from the Emirates denied the visit to the country during the war, stating that media outlets should exercise accuracy and professionalism, and to refrain from circulating unverified information or promoting misleading narratives.
Tasnim News reported that a leak of fight information proved that Netanyahu had travelled to the UAE for talks, stating intelligence activists published the route and flight data of two private planes on March 26 from Tel Aviv to the city of Al Ain.
Netanyahu’s former Chief of Staff who recently resigned had accompanied the PM on the secret trip to the UAE, rejected by Abu Dhabi officials visit or the country’s acceptance of any military delegation on their soil, stating on X: “The Prime Minister was welcomed in Abu Dhabi like a king,” IRNA reported.
News from the USA:
Vice President JD Vance said on Wednesday: “I spent a good amount of time on the phone with both Jared Kushner and Steve Witkoff, and a number of our friends in the Arab world this morning,” stating the fundamental question was when enough progress had been made that satisfied the President’s red line, which was very simple: “He needs to feel confident that we’ve put a number of protections in place such that Iran will never have a nuclear weapon,” the VP said.
According to a confidential US intelligence assessment that was prepared for Joint Chiefs Chairman Dan Caine, the report warned that the war had depleted US missile stockpiles, damaged regional military infrastructure, and provided Beijing with a valuable insight into American military operations ahead of any future Taiwan scenario.
The assessment concluded that China was gaining strategic advantages from the war across diplomacy, military, economy and informational fronts, while the US expended resources in the conflict, according to the Washington Post, claiming the report also said China had sold weapons to Gulf states during the attacks, helped countries manage energy shortages after the closure of the Strait of Hormuz, and used anti-war messaging to portray Washington as destabilising the international order.
During the Congressional hearing involving Department of War Secretary Pete Hegseth and Chief of Staff Dan Cain, it was revealed the US had lost 39 aircraft during the Iran war, citing a defence report, which was revealed around one month ago.
US Central Command appeared to be bored, with all the US Destroyers currently in an active Naval blockade that turned around 0 ships on Wednesday, so they instead had time to release a video along with a statement boasting that in the four weeks of operations, 67 commercial ships were redirected, but 15 supporting humanitarian aid were able to pass, and 4 were disabled to ensure compliance.
The US military is facing an unexpected budget deficit due to multiple factors including the war against Iran, with ammunition stocks deciling since 2022 due to Ukraine support and further strained by the Iran conflict, a US official told Al Jazeera, stressing the deficit wouldn’t affect combat operations, but warned tough decisions may be needed if a $1.5 trillion defence budget failed to pass.
News from Iran:
Plans are in place to increase the trade volume with Pakistan to $10 billion in a short-term deal with Pakistan, according to the Director General of Asia and the Indian Subcontinent at Iran’s Trade Promotion Organisation Abdolsadeh Nisi.
The plans include removing infrastructure barriers, developing border markets, as well as bartering mechanisms, as he considered Pakistan a suitable market for Iranian goods and Pakistan’s ports can play an effective role in the re-export of Iranian goods and raw materials.
Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi wrote on X that Kuwait was attempting to sow discord by ‘unlawfully attacking’ an Iranian boat and detaining four Iranian citizens in the Persian Gulf: “This illegal act took place near island used by the IS to attack Iran.” he said, adding: “We demand immediate release of our nationals and reserve the right to respond.”
Strait of Hormuz:
Secretary of State Marco Rubio told reporters that a Chinese cargo ship was hit by Iran, although he was sure it wasn’t intentional, but they did it, and it was why Chinese ships were stuck in the Strait of Hormuz, making it a huge source of instability, threatening to destabilise Asia more than any other part of the world because it’s heavily reliant on the Straits for energy.
Rubio said: “People are struggling to make that connection, but the connection is very real, they were going to have so many drones and missiles that no one could attack Iran because the result would be catastrophic for the region,” he said, claiming that once they had that immunity, they would break out towards a nuclear weapon: “And President Trump was not going to allow that to happen under his watch.”
China and the US agreed that no country can be allowed to exact shipping tolls on the Strait of Hormuz, Reuters reported, stating that Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi and US Secretary of State Marco Rubio had discussed the issue during a call in April.
French President Emmanuel Macron said the entire global economy is obviously affected by the Strait of Hormuz, but its affecting African countries the most, with several increasing fuel prices more than 30%, along with massive increases in fertilizer and the risk of rupture in the coming months, which put food security at risk: “In the face of this, we must support the African economy even more,” he said.
Corresponding with President Trump’s state visit to China, six tankers linked to China passed through the Iranian designated naval corridors in the past 24 hours, sailing near the areas where the US were observed in recent days, including:
UAE-registered LPG tanker APEX GAS sailing under the Panama flag;
Virgin Islands-registered oil tanker QUAR sailing under the Comoros flag;
Chinese-owned oil tanker STARWAY sailing under the Panama flag;
Singapore-registered oil tanker AQUILA sailing under the Liberia flag;
Chinese-owned oil tanker DEEPBLUE transiting the Strait of Hormuz under the Panama flag;
Chinese-owned oil tanker YUAN HUA HU sailing under the Chinese flag, was transiting the Gulf of Oman, Bloomberg reported, stating it was headed towards the US blockade after crossing Iran’s Larak Islands.
Other News:
Chinese satellite imagery startup MizarVision have been sanctioned by the US Treasury for tracking and publishing open-source images of American bombers during the war: “MizarVision then posted the Treasury sanctions notice as a recruitment ad, essentially using it as a job perk – ‘welcome to join us,’ it read.
IDF Chief of Staff Eyal Zamir said on Wednesday that the IDF was operating in all arenas of determination and the operation wasn’t over: “The IDF is prepared to renew fighting if required and remains in a state of constant readiness both defensively and offensively, from Judea and Samaria (West Bank) to Tehran.
Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov accused the war was never about security, but about reshaping the region’s political map and relations, to prevent the normalisation of relations between ‘Iran and Arabs,’ he said, warning that tensions were far from contained and there are now irreconcilable differences between Iran and the UAE as a result.
Lavrov added that Russia would likely have supported the proposal if India suggested discussing the issue in substance at the meeting of BRICS foreign ministers in New Delhi, but further cautioned that if the war spilled into the Bab el-Mandab Strait, ‘the damage this would inflict on the global energy sector would be immeasurable.’
Saudi Arabia launched tit-for-tat strikes on Iran during the war, according to reports from several news outlets including The Cradle, which came a day after media revealed a series of military strikes were carried out by the United Arab Emirates,
Reuters reported that Saudi Jets also struck targets near the Saudi-Iraqi border that had been used for drone and missile strikes, while retaliatory strikes were also carried out from Kuwait onto Iraqi militia sites and killed fighters while destroying communications and drone facilities.
OPEC were told by Saudia Arabia that its crude production fell by another 651,000 barrels per day, the lowest level since 1990 during the Gulf War, according to reports by Bloomberg, who noted the decline was lined to disruptions from the war and reduced Persian Gulf exports, bring Saudi output losses since February to approximately 42%.
An ADNOC tanker hit by drones last week off the Gulf of Oman has released a limited amount of fuel, according to ADNOC Logistics and Services, who said they were continuing to assess the situation involving the MV Barakah and was coordinating closely with ‘relevant authorities and specialist response teams,’ but didn’t disclose estimates of the volume of the spillage.
