Heavy fighting in Qatif, Eastern Province Saudi Arabia

On social media and YouTube, there are reports of heavy fighting and serious clashes in Al-Qatif, one of Saudi Arabia’s oil-richest regions whose inhabitants are predominantly Shia. The unrest is said to have been sparked off by the Iranian government.

In 2016 Saudi Arabia executed Sheikh Nimr, a top Shia cleric, who was a vocal supporter of the mass anti-government protests that erupted in the Eastern Province in 2011, in retaliation for which Iranian protesters ransacked the Saudi embassy in Tehran.

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Grenade kills Saudi policeman in Shia town

A Saudi Arabian police officer was killed by a rocket-propelled grenade on Tuesday in a Shia town, the interior ministry said, as deadly fighting escalated. A member of the special police emergency forces died when “a rocket-propelled grenade launched from inside the neighbourhood” and hit his patrol unit in the Almosara area of Awamiya. “Five others were injured and taken to hospital,” it said. Source Dawn

Iran likely to back longer OPEC-led oil cut if all on board: sources

A proposal to extend an OPEC and non-OPEC supply cut for nine months is a positive idea, sources familiar with Iranian thinking said, suggesting OPEC’s third-largest producer is likely to go along with such a plan if there is a consensus. Source Reuters

Saudi Arabia will be razed except for Mecca & Medina if it attacks Iran – defense minister

Responding to Saudi Arabia’s latest threats to take their conflict inside Iran, Tehran said it will leave nothing standing in the kingdom except for Muslim holy cities of Mecca and Medina if the Saudis do anything “ignorant,” Al-Manar reports. Source RT

Russia: Syria safe zones to be shut for U.S., coalition planes – agencies

The safe zones which are being created in Syria will be closed for warplanes of the United States and those of the U.S.-led coalition, Russian news agencies quoted Russian envoy at Syria peace talks Alexander Lavrentyev as saying on Friday. Turkey and Iran agreed on Thursday to Russia’s proposal for “de-escalation zones” in Syria, a move welcomed by the United Nations but met with scepticism from the United States. Source Reuters

OPEC Deepens Oil Production Cuts as Laggards Improve Compliance

The Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries deepened production cuts in April with laggards improving compliance with its historic deal to limit output. Overall, output fell by 40,000 barrels a day from a month earlier to 31.895 million barrels, according to a Bloomberg News survey of analysts, oil companies and ship-tracking data. Iraq, the second-biggest producer in the group, and Venezuela came closer to their targets. Source Bloomberg

U.S. says Iran complies with nuke deal but orders review on lifting sanctions

The Trump administration said on Tuesday it was launching an inter-agency review of whether the lifting of sanctions against Iran was in the United States’ national security interests, while acknowledging that Tehran was complying with a deal to rein in its nuclear program. Source Reuters