🇮🇷❌🇺🇸 — NEW: The IRGC has shot down a US MQ-1 drone over the western part of the Strait of Hormuz using a new generation air defense system, operating under Iran's integrated air defense network — IRGC.

➡️ This is the second US drone downed by Iran within 24 hours.

⭐️ Follow @MaxOsintIntel

🇮🇱❌🇱🇧 — Israeli artillery shelling targeted Ali al-Taher hill a short while ago.

⭐️ Follow @MaxOsintIntel

⚡️🇧🇭🇸🇦🇾🇪 — Bahrain has strongly condemned Houthi ballistic missile and drone strikes on the Saudi cities of Khamis Mushait, Abha, and Taif on September 14, resulting in civilian casualties and material damage to homes and vehicles.

Bahrain expressed full solidarity with Saudi Arabia and called on the UN Security Council to take a firm stance and hold those responsible accountable — Bahraini Foreign Ministry.

⭐️ Follow @MaxOsintIntel

⚡️🇮🇱🇸🇦🇾🇪🇾🇪 — NEW: Israel and Saudi Arabia have held talks mediated by U.S. Central Command aimed at helping Riyadh defend itself against Houthi attacks through intelligence assistance, according to Middle Eastern diplomatic sources cited by the Jerusalem Post.

The Houthis have intensified attacks on Saudi Arabia over the past week, including a drone strike on oil pipelines and pumping facilities that led to a partial shutdown of the main pipeline, and an attack on civilians inside a mosque near the Yemen-Saudi border. The group also seized strategically located islands along the Red Sea and barred Saudi vessels from passing through Bab al-Mandeb, imposing what sources described as an economic and diplomatic blockade.

The Saudi request for assistance is likely focused on intelligence support to build a broader picture of Houthi military deployments and identify potential plans for future operations. The IDF has already demonstrated intelligence and operational capabilities in the maritime arena around the Strait of Hormuz, assisting the U.S. in building layers of intelligence on Iranian force locations.

The security situation has raised concerns beyond Riyadh, based on a scenario in which the U.S. reaches understandings with Iran and the Houthis, leaving Saudi Arabia and other countries exposed to continued attacks. Bloomberg reported that Saudi Arabia also asked Britain for aid in repelling the Houthis and defending its oil infrastructure, with PM Burnham agreeing to send military advisers but not yet committing to further support.

Meanwhile, security officials said Trump's decision to allow Saudi Arabia to develop a civilian nuclear program has caused significant concern within Israel's security establishment, given the kingdom's energy resources and proximity to Israel. The issue was raised with Trump, who linked any progress on the civilian nuclear file to Saudi-Israeli normalization. Both sides remain optimistic that a roadmap for a diplomatic agreement can soon be presented, particularly amid growing regional threats.

⭐️ Follow @MaxOsintIntel

⚡️🇾🇪🇾🇪🇸🇦🇸🇾 — Sources among the Houthis in Sanaa told the Lebanese newspaper Al-Akhbar that the West Coast battle, which ended in the defeat of Saudi-backed Yemeni forces, foiled a Saudi plan to export the Syrian scenario to Yemen — a plan they say Riyadh had been working on for over a year.

The sources claimed extremist fighters were recruited from Syria through Saudi territory, with Syrian Salafist factions trained in the Saudi regions of Al-Wadiyyah and Sharura over recent months.

Houthi intelligence sources claimed Sanaa received information confirming Riyadh transferred hundreds of extremist elements from Syria into Yemen through its territory.

➡️ The sources also alleged a Turkish role in transporting Syrian extremists to the frontlines in Ma'rib, Al-Jawf, Aden, and Hadramout.

⭐️ Follow @MaxOsintIntel

⚡️🇮🇱 — Yedioth Ahronoth military correspondent Yossi Yehoshua reported that the Israeli military had warned Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s government for a year about a deficit reaching tens of billions of shekels, but urgent action was repeatedly delayed.

Yehoshua said the funding crisis has now become more acute because transfers cannot be approved during the election period, prompting a senior military officer to contact opposition leader Yair Lapid. Lapid reportedly refused to approve additional funds without cuts to allocations for the governing coalition, triggering accusations between the sides.

⭐️ Follow @MaxOsintIntel

🚨🇸🇦🇾🇪 — Alert Sirens in Southern Saudi Arabia.

⭐️ Follow @MaxOsintIntel

🇮🇷❌🇺🇸 — A fourth MQ-1 drone has been intercepted and destroyed in the eastern airspace of the Strait of Hormuz by the IRGC's advanced air defense system, according to IRGC.

The downing occurred within the past few days and was carried out under the country's integrated air defense network.

⭐️ Follow @MaxOsintIntel

⚡️🇮🇷🇸🇦🇾🇪🇾🇪 — Iran's regional allies are squeezing Saudi Arabia "on all fronts," with a two-pronged assault by Houthi rebels and Iraqi militants creating what may be the biggest test for Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman since the backlash over Jamal Khashoggi's murder, according to the Financial Times.

➡️ The Houthi capture of Yemen's Red Sea coastline is reshaping the balance of power in the Gulf, strengthening Iran's hand and confronting Saudi Arabia with a difficult choice: absorb mounting costs or seek accommodation with Tehran. By securing a position overlooking Bab el-Mandeb, the Iran-aligned group has opened a second pressure point, threatening Saudi oil exports already diverted from the Strait of Hormuz.

➡️ The calculation, according to regional officials and analysts, is straightforward: by threatening Red Sea shipping while Iran chokes off Hormuz, Tehran and the Houthis can raise oil prices and fuel inflation while narrowing the region's prospects of relying on Washington to resolve the crisis. "The Houthi capture of strategic islands near Bab el-Mandeb is a game changer," said analyst Fawaz Gerges. "It changes the balance of power and gives them far greater geopolitical and geoeconomic leverage over Saudi Arabia, the Gulf, the United States and global trade."

➡️ The strategy is designed to force a stark choice on Gulf states: put up with growing economic pain from the squeeze on oil exports and Iranian strikes, or engage with Iran to protect trade and energy flows. Trump's reported refusal to agree to a Saudi request for the U.S. to strike the Houthis, combined with mounting economic costs, is reinforcing a view in some Gulf capitals that negotiations with Tehran are no longer a choice but a necessity for self-preservation.

➡️ A meeting in Oman between Gulf Arab foreign ministers and their Iranian counterpart to discuss a possible arrangement on the Strait of Hormuz was postponed over disagreements on the terms of the talks. Omani Foreign Minister Badr Albusaidi said the gathering was delayed "in the interests of consensus." The dilemma for Gulf states is that geography is immutable: Iran's position alongside the region's energy and trade arteries makes it an unavoidable player in any Gulf security equation. Asked on Sunday if he was concerned about the Gulf states meeting with Iran, Trump said that was up to them.

⭐️ Follow @MaxOsintIntel

⚡️🇷🇺🇺🇦 — The Center's drone pilots completely destroyed a hidden enemy drone command center, — Russian Ministry of Defense.

⭐️ Follow @MaxOsintIntel

⚡️🇨🇳 — China has unveiled a new autonomous robotic fish designed for underwater surveillance and subsea reconnaissance operations.

The biomimetic platform is engineered to operate in maritime environments while monitoring naval activity and subsea infrastructure.

⭐️ Follow @MaxOsintIntel

🇾🇪❌🇸🇦 — Visual footage shows fires in Yanbu, Saudi Arabia, with initial reports indicating a direct strike by Yemeni missileson an Aramco oil refinery — Initial Reports.

⭐️ Follow @MaxOsintIntel

⚡️🇺🇦🇷🇺 — General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine:

russian military personnel losses have exceeded 300,000 since the beginning of 2026

According to the General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, russian forces have suffered 301,030 military personnel casualties — killed and wounded — since the beginning of the year.

To put this figure into perspective, it is comparable to the combined personnel strength of nearly 150 motorised rifle regiments, assuming an average of approximately 2,000 servicemen per regiment.

The heaviest losses this year were recorded during the three summer months, when russian forces suffered 124,170 military personnel casualties:
▪️ June — 39,290;
▪️ July — 42,860;
▪️ August — 42,020.

In September (as of the beginning of 15th September), the occupiers’ losses already amount to 20,360 personnel.

The enemy’s significant losses are the result of the effective combat operations carried out by all components of Ukraine’s Defence Forces.

⭐️ Follow @MaxOsintIntel

⚡️🇱🇧🇮🇱🇱🇧 — Lebanese Prime Minister Nawaf Salam:

After successfully restoring Lebanon's ties with its Arab surroundings, we were able to increase our exports to several Arab countries.

There will be no security or stability as long as the war continues in the south. Our goal is israel's withdrawal from all our territories, the release of the prisoners, and the return of the displaced to their towns.

Lebanon is not a bargaining chip in the hands of others in negotiations from which it is absent. The decision on war and peace must rest solely with the state, and the success or failure of the negotiations should be judged by their final outcomes.

It is understandable that some may disagree with the content of the framework agreement. However, claiming that it entails new commitments for Lebanon is surprising.

Direct negotiations with israel are not easy. Lebanon is committed to its sovereignty over all its territory, and sovereignty requires israel's withdrawal from all Lebanese territories, as well as the extension of the state's authority through its own forces and efforts to ensure that weapons are held solely by the state.

I am not a fan of negotiating for the sake of negotiating. It is the state's responsibility to choose the path that is least costly for the Lebanese in order to achieve its objectives. Negotiation in itself is not a concession of rights, but a means of reclaiming them through diplomatic channels.

⭐️ Follow @MaxOsintIntel

⚡️🇷🇺🇺🇦 — Sergey Lavrov Russian Foreign Minister:

Not respecting, of course, the fundamental rights of man, the right to life, you observe, I hope regularly, the translation of situations that show the activity of the so-called "man-catchers", those who catch on the streets of Kyiv and other Ukrainian cities people, young people, and not very young people, and drag them into transport means for forcible dispatch to the front, without any summons, without any official mobilization. I have no doubt that soon it will come to women too.

⭐️ Follow @MaxOsintIntel

🇱🇧🇱🇧❌🇮🇱 — Hezbollah's Parliamentary Representative, Ali Ammar:

I wished that the Prime Minister would not adopt a policy of ignoring the history of Israeli aggression against Lebanon, even before the emergence of the Resistance.

The Resistance will remain as long as there is an inch of our land occupied.

⭐️ Follow @MaxOsintIntel

⚡️🇺🇦🇷🇺 — Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy:

Russia continues to attack our energy sector, regular logistics, and critical infrastructure. And our responses to them for this are tangible. There are new results from the Defense Forces of Ukraine regarding the refinery in Syzran. There was also a strike in Taganrog on a drone production facility, as well as on a drone preparation and launch site in the Oryol region. Targets were hit in the Black Sea as well. I thank every one of our warriors for the effectiveness of our long-range sanctions!

The day before, the United States also announced a significant decision regarding Russia’s VTB Bank – one of Russia’s systemic banks, which is heavily involved in schemes supporting Russia’s war and, in particular, its relations with the Iranian regime. All such schemes that work against peace truly need to be dismantled. I thank our partners for this useful step!

There is no alternative to ending this war. And all forms of pressure on Russia must create the right diplomatic conditions. Glory to Ukraine!

⭐️ Follow @MaxOsintIntel