IIME Morning Brief · September 17, 2026

CENTCOM chiefs meet in Germany as Saudi oil disruptions prompt supply adjustments for Europe and Asian refiners. Lebanon seeks security agreement. TotalEnergies seeks to join Iraq-Syria pipeline consortium.

Saudi Arabia pleaded with Western allies for assistance as the Houthi advance continued — AP News.

Riyadh said its air defences shot down a Houthi drone south of Mecca — Reuters.

At least 125,000 people were displaced by escalating fighting in Yemen this month, including more than 2,400 who crossed the sea to seek refuge in Djibouti — The National.

Saudi Arabia cut oil shipments to Europe after drone attacks damaged its key export pipeline to the Red Sea — Reuters.

Saudi Arabia is offering Asian refiners additional crude loadings through ship-to-ship transfers off Oman’s Sohar port — Reuters.

Saudi Arabia is looking to resume about half the capacity of a key oil pipeline — Bloomberg.

The military chiefs of Israel, the United States, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain, Kuwait, Qatar, Jordan and Egypt met in Germany — The Times of Israel.

The UAE security chief said Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps was behind many cyberattacks on the UAE — The National.

U.S. court papers said two Chinese companies used Binance accounts to launder illegal proceeds from Iranian oil sales — The New York Times.

The Trump administration plans to send powerful bombs to Israel in a $2.8 billion weapons sale — AP.

A damaged six-story building collapsed in Gaza City, reportedly killing 20 people and leaving dozens missing — The Times of Israel.

The United States again denied Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas a visa to attend the UN General Assembly — The National.

The European Union is considering new sanctions amid rising settler violence in the West Bank — Anadolu Ajansı.

Gaza-bound technocrats drew up 71 rebuilding projects that hinge on Israeli approval — Jacob Magid, The Times of Israel.

Lebanon is seeking a security agreement with Israel that could precede peace — L’Orient-Le Jour.

A senior Lebanese politician urged Hezbollah to disarm — The National.

Lebanon’s army is preparing a list of needs for a support conference and is relying on Washington — Malek Jadah, L’Orient-Le Jour.

UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres called for countries supplying weapons in Sudan’s conflict to be held accountable — The National.

France’s TotalEnergies is seeking a stake in a consortium to build a Syrian-Iraqi pipeline — The National.

Iraq is planning to diversify oil exports through Turkey and Syria — Yenisafak.

The Strait of Hormuz crisis is projected to add €90 billion to Europe’s fuel costs — Arab48.