Iran says no US talks are underway as attacks on Gulf infrastructure continue

We’re back to not knowing whether or not Iran and the US are negotiating for an agreement that would end their ongoing war in the region. Iran’s Secretary of the Supreme National Security Council Mohsen Rezaei said his country is not in active talks with the US, Reuters reports. Rezaei’s statement comes just one day after Qatari negotiators met with US President Donald Trump in Washington to discuss a draft proposal that would gradually lead to a cessation of attacks and the opening of the Strait of Hormuz. Iran had previously set out seven conditions for a truce, and maintained that it would not reopen the strait or resume direct talks until these conditions were met.

While the indirect talks maintain their start-stop cadence, attacks on Gulf infrastructure have continued. Another Adnoc Logistics vessel was struck and damaged in an attack in the Arabian Gulf, the state-backed shipping firm said in a statement carried by Wam. The incident happened yesterday within UAE territorial waters, but Adnoc didn’t specify who was behind the strike. The waterway had been relatively quiet in recent months, though an Adnoc-affiliated vessel was struck by Iranian missiles in August.

Sharjah-based Dana Gas halted production at its Khor Mor gas facility in Iraq’s Kurdistan Region after a suspected drone attack started a fire, cutting off gas to the plants that generate most of the region’s electricity. The fire is out, and no injuries were reported, but production will stay suspended while the damage is assessed, the company said in a statement (pdf) without providing a timeline for a restart.

Most of the region’s power runs on Khor Mor gas: The Khor Mor facility supplies the gas that fuels more than 80% of the Kurdistan Region’s electricity, 964 reports. The attack initially knocked around 2.8 GW of generation offline, Reuters reports, citing two sources at the region’s Electricity Ministry, who said a drone hit an LPG storage tank as workers took cover in shelters.

A united GCC front

Kuwait will soon be home to a GCC military headquarters, the bloc said in a statement after defense ministers approved the decision. The Unified Military Command will see “the allocation of appropriate forces to it,” and the statement also noted the need to “equip [member states] with the capacity to confront various current and future challenges and threats.”

GCC Secretary General Jasem Albudaiwi also praised “Gulf cohesion” in countering “treacherous Iranian attacks,” echoing a similar recent statement from diplomatic advisor to the UAE Anwar Gargash who called for the need to “revive collective Gulf action” in response to the attacks on Saudi Arabia.

For now, there are no further details on what the headquarters would entail more specifically; however, analysts previously said integrated air defense systems are needed to defend against future strikes, according to Bloomberg. So far, air defense systems themselves have proved costly and also triggered a re-think of the wider defense supply chain, bringing a focus on greater self-reliance.

Shipping remains under pressure

Adnoc sanctioned tankers unlocked: The Emirati state oil firm is among at least four firms — alongside Trafigura, Vitol, and Mercuria — in talks with US officials for licenses to buy or lease ships blacklisted for carrying illicit oil, Bloomberg reports, citing people it says are familiar with the matter. The talks cover about 50 of the c. 1.6k ships under US sanctions, including supertankers. The Treasury is reviewing applications case by case, with no timeline for approvals.

It’s about fixing a freight crunch: Tanker shortages and Hormuz risk pushed freight rates to record highs in recent weeks. Sending a supertanker of US crude to Asia cost nearly USD 40 bbl in early October, up from USD 5 a year earlier. Rates have eased but remain near historic highs, helping keep oil around USD 100 / bbl. Energy Secretary Chris Wright says the idea is to convert “dark tankers to legitimate tankers.”