War returns to Iran with Israel, US strikes

Yemen witnessed its widest military escalation in three weeks in recent hours between government forces and the Houthi group, as the displacement crisis caused by the fighting continued to worsen, Anadolu reports.

Clashes were concentrated in the southwestern provinces of Taiz and Lahej, marking the most intense escalation since Sept. 10, when the Houthis took control of the strategic city of Mokha, according to Anadolu’s monitoring.

Amid the escalation on the ground, the number of people displaced since military operations intensified in July approached 198,000, according to government data.

Iran said Saturday it had executed a man convicted of a raft of charges including firing a military-grade weapon at police officers during anti-government protests earlier this year, AFP reports.

Siavash Jamshidi was accused of targeting security personnel during mass demonstrations that peaked in January in which thousands of people were killed.

Since that time, Iranian authorities have stepped up executions of convicts linked to the unrest.

The first flight carrying Israelis home from the United Arab Emirates after services were suspended following the flydubai attack landed in Tel Aviv, according to Israel’s airport authority website, Reuters reports.

The arrival, which Israeli media called a repatriation flight, came after Wednesday’s drama aboard a Dubai-Tel Aviv route that officials say narrowly avoided catastrophe.

During the flydubai incident, the jet’s Indian captain was assaulted by his co-pilot but he managed to open the cockpit door, allowing passengers and crew to overpower the attacker and force an emergency landing in Saudi Arabia.

Flights at Riyadh’s King Khalid International Airport were disrupted by delays and cancellations, while explosions were reported in Saudi Arabia’s Asir region following reported ballistic missile attacks, Iran’s state media reports.

A senior commander of the Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC) says the country’s armed forces have made major advances in various technological fields and have “surprises” in store for their enemies, Press Tv reports.

IRGC’s second-in-command Major General Mostafa Izadi said on Friday that the Iranian armed forces have made major strides in the ground, air, air defence and naval fields.

“The armed forces are using various technologies, some of which have been employed on the battlefield and others will be utilised in the future,” he added.

Senior Iraqi cleric Ammar al-Hakim calls for the reopening of all airports to flights between Iran and Iraq, expressing solidarity with Iran and its people in facing economic pressure, Press Tv reports.

The Iraqi Prime Minister’s Office announced an agreement under which Iranian airlines, excluding Mahan Air, will operate 40 flights per day from and to Najaf International Airport, IRNA reports.

According to Iraq’s official news agency, the agreement was reached following the Iraqi Prime Minister’s Office’s follow-ups with the relevant parties.

The flights are aimed at facilitating the movement of passengers and pilgrims and supporting humanitarian, medical, tourism, and educational aspects, the Iraqi Prime Minister’s Office said.

The hunger crisis in Yemen threatens to become “absolutely devastating” as renewed fighting grips the country, the UN’s World Food Programme warned, reports AFP.

The WFP said that unless the international community stepped up its efforts to help, the outlook was bleak.

“Hunger in Yemen today is accelerating before our eyes,” said Matthew Hollingworth, WFP’s assistant executive director for programme operations.

“We are scaling up as the WFP, but we’re doing so with very limited resources and access to areas that we need to get into,” he said, warning that the crisis could compound “far beyond” Yemen’s borders.

Yemen is one of the poorest countries in the world and remains gripped by a vast humanitarian crisis.

US President Donald Trump’s senior national security officials gathered on Friday at Camp David for closed-door discussions on the Iran war and the Saudi-Houthi conflict in Yemen, Axios reports.

Citing three American officials, Axios said Vice President JD Vance presided over the undisclosed meeting, which ran for hours. Secretary of State Marco Rubio, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, special envoy Steve Witkoff, CIA chief John Ratcliffe and Joint Chiefs Chairman Gen. Dan Caine also took part.

One official said issues were settled or discussed at length.

G7 countries agreed to release 100 million barrels of diesel and crude oil to ease global energy supply concerns, as President Donald Trump hailed the decision and said the US would not impose a threatened diesel export ban, reports AFP.

The announcement came following a video conference of G7 leaders chaired by French President Emmanuel Macron after Washington stepped up pressure on Europe to release strategic reserves and threatened a diesel export ban.

The talks, convened by Macron after a conversation with Trump, focused on coordinating a response to soaring fuel prices among the other G7 economies of Britain, Canada, Germany, Italy, Japan and the United States.

Iraq and Turkiye have begun talks on a long-term oil and gas framework agreement, seeking closer cooperation on energy infrastructure, trade and alternative routes for Iraqi oil exports, Al Jazeera reports.

The Yemeni army says it carried out 474 operations across multiple fronts over the past 24 hours, killing or wounding 1,540 Houthi fighters, with the highest death toll reported in Taiz.

Two oil tankers have been struck by “unidentified projectiles” in the Strait of Hormuz region, a British maritime agency said Friday, in the latest threat to shipping in the waterway, Reuters reports.

The Hormuz passage, through which a fifth of the world’s oil and LNG passed before the US and Israel launched strikes against Iran in late February and sparked the Middle East war, remains at the heart of the conflict.

Tehran has been blocking the passage of commercial ships, firing on vessels it accuses of unauthorised crossings.

Washington responded with a counterblockade of Iranian ports in an effort to prevent Tehran from exporting its oil.

The Iraqi Embassy in Washington, DC, says the country’s Foreign Minister Fuad Hussein has “reaffirmed Iraq’s commitment to confining arms and decisions of war and peace exclusively to the hands of the state” during a meeting with US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, Al Jazeera reports.

In a post on X, the mission says, “The foreign minister expressed Iraq’s deep appreciation for the United States and the International Coalition for the support and sacrifices they provided in defeating the ISIS organisation.”

The US Secretary of War has directed the Pentagon’s chief technology officer to commission a study of future battlefields and the weapons and technology needed to dominate them, Al Jazeera reports citing a Pentagon memo published on X, which says US operations in Iran “showcased not only the skill and bravery of our warfighters, but also our unmatched technological prowess”.

The memo orders Chief Technology Officer Emil Michael to set up ‘Project Meridian: The Future of Warfare’ through a partner organisation.

‘Meridian’ will identify the capabilities US forces need and propose solutions for developing, testing and fielding them.

The memo cites rapid advances in AI, autonomy, directed energy, robotics and biotechnology, which it says “will profoundly alter the character of warfare”, adding that the US Department of War “must not take our current advantages for granted”.

The Saudi-led coalition fighting Yemen’s Houthi rebels says it has intercepted and destroyed three ballistic missiles launched by the group towards the southern Saudi city of Khamis Mushait, according to Reuters.

Israeli warplanes have struck the town of al-Mansouri in southern Lebanon, Al Jazeera reports citing the official National News Agency.

Yemen’s Houthi rebels claim that Saudi forces launched 94 strikes against areas under their control in the past 24 hours, as the group and the Saudi-led coalition clash in the country’s revived civil war, AFP reports.

The group claims that the number of Saudi strikes on its positions has reached 1,350 since the start of the renewed fighting, adding that they targeted areas across Houthi-held territory.

Jordan’s King Abdullah II, in a phone call with US Secretary of State Marco Rubio, has called for a comprehensive de-escalation agreement that guarantees the security and sovereignty of Arab states, Al Jazeera reports.

According to a statement released by Amman’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the king stresses the “pivotal role” of the United States in supporting regional stability.

He also points to the outcomes of the latest round of the Aqaba Meetings held recently in France, which aim to mobilise international support for the Lebanese army so it can preserve the country’s security and stability.

Oil prices have started to fall after a decision to release 100 million barrels of oil and fuel reserves, Reuters reports citing remarks by International Energy Agency chief Fatih Birol.

“We took a step today on diesel. We held a meeting with world leaders and announced that we would start releasing 100 million barrels of oil again,” Birol says at a press meeting in Istanbul. “Prices are starting to fall.

“I hope this will be a beneficial step both for the world and for Turkiye,” he adds.

Bahrain has strongly condemned an alleged attack by Yemen’s Houthi rebels on an electricity distribution station in Madina, terming it a flagrant violation of the “sanctity of Islamic holy sites and an assault on the sentiments of Muslims around the world”, Al Jazeera reports.

Shura Council representatives have also expressed Bahrain’s solidarity with Saudi Arabia and supported its right to “safeguard its sovereignty, security and stability”.

The statement adds that Saudi Arabia’s security is an “integral part” of that of Bahrain.

During an emergency meeting, the G7 has again denounced Iran’s attacks on neighbouring countries amid Washington’s war on Tehran, Al Jazeera reports.

Iraq has announced an agreement allowing Iranian airlines to operate 40 flights daily to and from Najaf International Airport, excluding Mahan Air, Al Jazeera reports citing a statement from the Iraqi Prime Minister’s Office, which adds that flights focused on moving tourists and pilgrims will resume.

A tanker was struck by an unknown projectile while transiting outbound through the Strait of Hormuz, causing a small fire and a blackout onboard, Reuters reports citing the United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations agency (UKMTO).

UKMTO says the fire was extinguished and no casualties or environmental damage were reported.

A $8.4 billion oil recovery project mentioned by President Donald Trump is not part of a strategic investment agreement between the US and South Korea, Reuters reports citing South Korean news agency Yonhap, which cites an industry ministry official.

The official says an inquiry has been sent to the US side through communication channels, according to the report.