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Day 198 of the WarSunday, September 13, 2026

Day 198 — Projectiles Hit Three Ships in Hormuz, NYT Names Basij Chief Behind July Ship Attack, Protester Twin Sentenced to Hang

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Strait of HormuzSaudi-Yemen border

Cracks at the Top — NYT Says the Basij Chief Ordered the July Ship Attack

  • Three senior Iranian officials told the New York Times that Basij chief Hossein Taeb ordered the July attack on three merchant ships that collapsed the emerging U.S.-Iran understanding — a decision reportedly taken by a hardline faction without the government's or IRGC leadership's knowledge.source
  • Per the same report, a verbal altercation followed between Pezeshkian and IRGC chief Ahmad Vahidi, while Vahidi and the Supreme National Security Council professed ignorance of the attack, Iran International reports.source
  • Babak Taghvaee claims the IRGC Aerospace Force can no longer build a single Shahed-family drone at home, its factories — including the main plant at Badr Air Base in Isfahan — bombed by Israel, and is now asking Russia for Geran-2 copies.source

Inside Iran — A Protester Twin Sentenced to Hang, Over 6,000 Detained Since the Dey Uprising

  • Visegrad24 reports that twin sisters Taraneh and Romina Rahimi, seized as 19-year-old students by masked IRGC agents after joining protests in Isfahan, were brutally beaten in custody; Taraneh has been sentenced to death by hanging and Romina to 25 years.source
  • Police chief Ahmadreza Radan said more than 6,000 people have been arrested over the Dey 1404 protests, which he called a 'coup,' and that three more were detained overnight in an unnamed province, Iran International reports.source
  • Former Tehran council head Mohsen Hashemi said officials used metro stations as offices during the 12-day and 40-day wars, even as no public shelters were designated to protect ordinary citizens, per Iran International.source

Hormuz — Unidentified Projectiles Hit Three Ships, One Tanker Burns

Gulf & Naval
  • UKMTO reports three vessels hit by unidentified projectiles in two incidents in Hormuz — two ships struck near Oman's coast on September 10, and a tanker that sent a distress call on September 13 before a severe fire broke out on board, per Iran International.source
  • UKMTO issued a security alert urging ships to exercise caution and report suspicious activity; the crew's status, the extent of the damage and any environmental impact from the latest hit remain unclear, RadioFarda reports.source
  • Kayhan, published under the supervision of the Leader's representative, urged the regime to declare that any attack on an Iranian tanker would make every tanker within range a target, even outside the Gulf, Iran International reports.source
  • U.S. Energy Secretary Chris Wright told Bloomberg that oil traders should not count on a deal with Iran over Hormuz and should keep relying on alternative routes, which he estimates move about 10 million barrels a day, per Iran International.source

Region — Houthis Target a Saudi Base as Iraq Reopens Its Iran Crossings

Gulf & Naval
  • Houthi military spokesman Yahya Saree said missiles and drones hit weapons depots and command centers at the Sharurah base in southern Saudi Arabia, without giving timing or damage; the Houthis claim Saudi jets carried out 129 strikes on their areas in 48 hours, per RadioFarda.source
  • Saudi civil defense said two people were injured when a projectile fell in the Al-Tuwal area of Jazan, while Yemen's government army reported three airstrikes on Houthi positions in Taiz province, per Iran International.source
  • Baghdad said it will reopen its border crossings with Iran in stages after shutting Shalamcheh over the Saudi pipeline attack, which Saudi officials say came from Iraqi soil; it also dismissed the military commander for Maysan province and launched a hunt for the perpetrators, per RadioFarda.source

Diplomacy — Tehran Ties Hormuz to Islamabad, Washington Wants Nuclear Talks Only

  • Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi told Al-Araby Al-Jadeed that the Iran-Oman agreement will not reopen Hormuz, and that Tehran's condition is a U.S. return to its commitments under the Islamabad agreement, per Iran International.source
  • CNN, citing three sources, reports the Trump administration wants any future talks to focus on Iran's nuclear program rather than reopening Hormuz, while Tehran links nuclear talks to lifting the blockade; tolls on tankers are a main obstacle, per Iran International.source
  • Axios' Barak Ravid, quoting a Gulf official, reports Saudi Arabia submitted amendments to the Oman-Iran Hormuz proposal, fearing the text would lock in a new status quo in the Strait unacceptable to Riyadh and other GCC members, per Iran International.source
  • Asked by India Today whether Tehran is ready for direct talks with Trump, Pezeshkian said: 'For now we cannot make such a decision, because they killed our leader,' adding that Iran is 'not at war with Saudi Arabia,' per Iran International.source

Sources