Two Filipino sailors died when a Saudi oil tanker, the Sidr, was hit in the Strait of Hormuz, the narrow waterway ships use to carry oil out of the Persian Gulf.
Finland's government secretly extended a defense-cooperation deal with Israel for ten years, through 2034, covering joint weapons research and purchases — even as it has publicly accused Israel of genocide in the Gaza war.
President Trump has sent Congress a classified agreement to help Saudi Arabia build a civilian nuclear program.
In the same week, Russia stepped up bombing of Ukraine's Odesa port to cut it off from the Black Sea, an unexplained incident was reported in the Strait of Hormuz (the narrow waterway between Iran and Oman that much of the world's oil passes through), and Somali pirates hijacked a cargo ship, their fifth attack since April.
On August 7, Saudi Arabia, Turkey and Pakistan signed a pact in Mecca promising to defend each other if attacked, similar to NATO's rule that an attack on one member is an attack on all.
The United Nations Security Council issued a joint statement condemning missile attacks by Yemen's Houthi movement, an armed group backed by Iran, on Saudi Arabia.
Saudi Arabia, Turkey and Pakistan have signed a new pact promising to defend one another if attacked, as unrest spreads across the Middle East.
Saudi Arabia and 13 other countries founded a new alliance on July 30, 2026 to protect Red Sea shipping routes after Yemen's Houthi fighters declared a naval blockade and hit several oil tankers.
Iran launched a new round of missile attacks, and United States and Saudi Arabian forces struck Iran-backed militia groups in Iraq, according to news reports.
Saudi Arabia has for the first time taken part directly in air strikes alongside the United States, hitting an Iraqi militant alliance linked to Iran on July 29.
Days after signs Iran's conflict with the US was cooling, fighting flared again on three fronts: Iran fired a missile attack on US forces, which the US says it intercepted; US and Saudi jets bombed Iran-backed militants in Iraq who had launched drone attacks; and Iran's Revolutionary Guards seized three oil tankers in the Strait of Hormuz, a narrow sea passage carrying much of the world's oil.
The US disabled a tanker in the Strait of Hormuz to enforce its blockade of Iranian ports as Saudi Arabia struck Yemen and the Houthis vowed retaliation, pulling the world's key oil chokepoint into the war.