Second half of Martin’s post covers recent developments in Yemen, as Houthi forces have made gains against the Yemeni government, prompting what the government says were their airstrikes against Houthi forces to curb their advance. However, as noted by Martin below, the lack of some of the assets used in the strikes will likely induce Houthi retaliation against the Saudis in the near-term. We saw this happen with the ‘Yemeni government’ targeting of Sanaa Airport that induced this newest round of escalation between the Yemeni government, the Houthis, and Saudi Arabia.

The United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations (UKMTO) Center has issued an advisory after receiving a report that several vessels in the Northern Arabian Gulf and Gulf of Oman were subject to disabling fire as part of ongoing military operations. The locations given by UKMTO are roughly the same as those mentioned in the release a short time ago from U.S. Central Command (CENTCOM) announcing they had destroyed 3 Iranian tankers in response to the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) targeting two U.S. Navy ships yesterday.

White House Special Envoy to the Middle East Steve Witkoff and White House Envoy Jared Kushner met today with Russian President Vladimir Putin, Kremlin aide Yuri Ushakov, and Russian Direct Investment Fund head Kirill Dmitriev in Moscow. Per Russian news reports, Putin welcomed the talks, saying “As you informed us, I know that after Moscow, you're planning to go to Kyiv. In any case, of course, no matter what happens next, contacts of this kind are certainly always beneficial.”

Despite Russia’s ostensible agreement to the standoff strike ceasefire with Ukraine during the meetings? Reports indicate that Russia did indeed strike Ukraine during the talks.

Something to note about the talks today between U.S. and Russian negotiators is that Kirill Dmitriev, the head of Russia’s Direct Investment Fund, continues to take point on these talks, signaling, as we’ve assessed in the past, that Putin’s primary goals and preconditions of any ceasefire/peace deal negotiations remain concessions surrounding currently in place economic sanctions regimes.

Following the U.S. targeting of three Iranian oil tankers, Iran’s IRGC has responded by saying that the IRGC Navy targeted six tankers in the Strait of Hormuz today. Additional reports from Iranian news outlets are now also saying that the IRGC has threatened even more actions against the region should such attacks continue.

U.S. Special Envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner have departed Moscow after roughly three hours of talks with Russian President Vladimir Putin focused on ending the war in Ukraine.

The two are expected in Kyiv on Sunday to meet with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy as part of the Trump administration’s latest push to revive stalled peace negotiations. Putin has ordered a 72 hour pause in strikes on Kyiv during their visit.

Witkoff and Kushner are now aboard U.S. Air Force C-32A SAM934. They will likely travel to Poland before continuing by ground transportation to Kyiv.

According to a release from U.S. Southern Command (SOUTHCOM), at the direction of SOUTHCOM, Joint Task Force Western Hemisphere (JTF-WHEM) interdicted a vessel in the Eastern Pacific operating as a refueling station supporting illicit at-sea drug trafficking operations for the Los Choneros designated terrorist organization. The individuals on board were apprehended and turned over to the Ecuadorian authorities and the vessel and its attached support vessels were destroyed.

U.S. Central Command (CENTCOM) has released post strike video of the M/T Kylo showing the ship going under water.

As we mentioned earlier, U.S. sanctions on Russia as a result of their invasion of Ukraine makes the rescinding of such economic coercive measures the primary precondition for the Kremlin before engaging in Russia-U.S.-Ukraine talks. Per Barak Ravid of Axios, the Head of U.S. sanctions efforts, Gene Lange, attended the three and a half hour meeting between Russian Direct Investment Fund head Kirill Dmitriev, White House Special Envoy to the Middle East Steve Witkoff, and White House envoy Jared Kushner.

According to the Romanian Armed Forces, at 11:40 yesterday night, Romanian radar systems detected a number of aerial targets of unspecified origin operating near the Ukraine-Romania border, prompting air defenses to be put on alert. F-18s from the Spanish Air Force, deployed to Romania as a part of NATO’s enhanced Air Policing and Air Defence mission, and a Romanian Puma gunship helicopter were put on standby as a result of the event. Per the release, Romanian airspace was not violated during the event.

President Donald J. Trump’s Special Envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner have arrived in Kyiv and met with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and other Ukrainian officials to discuss efforts to end the war with Russia.

The meeting follows more than three hours of talks Saturday with Russian President Vladimir Putin in Moscow. The White House described those discussions as substantive and said the sides discussed concrete plans for the next steps toward ending the war.

This marks Witkoff and Kushner’s first official visit to Ukraine in their roles as U.S. negotiators.

According to Axios, citing a source with knowledge on the matter, during the visit of White House Special Envoy to the Middle East Steve Witkoff and White House Envoy Jared Kushner to Kyiv, Ukraine, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky briefed the two on Ukraine’s preparations for operations in the winter months. However, per the report, both Kushner and Witkoff pushed Zelensky to find a ‘breakthrough’ before the winter months arrive.

In addition to their 2 on 1 meeting with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, Witkoff and Kushner held a second meeting where national security advisers from the E3 nations (UK, France, Germany) were present. Axios also reported that talks went well and were “substantive,” with one source telling Axios that “Things may move in a good direction if there's a follow-up by all parties involved.”

With recent escalations in the Middle East between Iran and the U.S., and both sides now trading tit-for-tat strikes on tankers in the Strait of Hormuz, traders on Polymarket are now predicting that it’s unlikely the U.S. and Iran will meet diplomatically in the near-term, with traders assessing that there is a 7% chance such a meeting could happen by September 30, 2026.

According to a release from U.S. Central Command (CENTCOM), since the renewed blockade of vessels traveling to and from Iranian ports, 92 vessels have been redirected, 3 vessels have been disabled to ensure compliance, and 2 have been boarded.

The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) has provided an update on the flight that crashed after overrunning the runway at Miami International Airport today, confirming that the flight, 21 Air Flight 7598 overran the runway after landing and crashed, and deferring further inquiry to the airport. Per reports at least 6 individuals have been killed and/or injured in the incident.

As the conflict in Yemen between Saudi Arabia, the Internationally Recognized Government, and the Houthis continues to escalate, the Houthis are now claiming to have shot down a Saudi Wing Loong II drone northwest of Sanaa.