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This liveblog is no longer being updated.
Iraq orders investigation into Saudi East-West pipeline attack
Iraq welcomed Saudi Arabia's decision to hold off on retaliation after Riyadh said drones launched from Iraqi territory struck its East-West pipeline.
Iraq condemned any attack threatening Saudi security and said its prime minister had ordered an investigation into those responsible, according to a statement from its armed forces.
Saudi foreign ministry says pipeline was attacked by drones launched from Iraq
Following a request from Iraq's prime minister, Saudi Arabia has chosen not to retaliate "at this stage".
Turkish FM said he discussed attacks on Saudi Arabia with Saudi counterpart
Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan discussed regional developments and recent attacks targeting Saudi Arabia in a call with his Saudi counterpart Prince Faisal bin Farhan Al Saud, a Turkish diplomatic source said on Friday.
Last month, NATO member Turkey, Saudi Arabia and Pakistan signed a joint defense agreement that includes a mutual defense clause similar to NATO's Article 5.
- Trump declines Saudi crown prince's call for US strikes on Houthis
- Hamas says a top armed commander killed by Israel
- Houthis say shipping 'safe' except for Saudi vessels, vow further escalation
- Houthis seize entire Red Sea coast of Yemen, governtment official says
- Saudi foreign ministry says pipeline was attacked by drones launched from Iraq
- Saudi shuts East-West oil pipeline after attacks
Saudi shuts East-West oil pipeline after attacks
Saudi authorities shut the East-West oil pipeline in the Riyadh and Medina areas after it came under attack, injuring a number of people, an energy ministry official told state media on Friday.
"The East-West pipeline in the Riyadh and Medina regions was subjected to several attacks on Thursday morning," the official told the SPA news agency, adding: "The pipeline was stopped as a precaution, and the attacks resulted in some injuries."
Houthi health ministry says 82 people killed or wounded in Saudi-led attacks since September 3
Yemen's Iran-backed Houthis open a new front in the war, a 'negative change for the US'
Yemen’s Iranian-backed Houthi rebels captured a strategic island at the southern entrance to the Red Sea, two officials said Friday, opening a new front in the Iran war and further threatening Saudi oil exports through one of the world’s key shipping lanes.
"It is a radical negative change for the US and for the West," said FRANCE 24 correspondent Noga Tornapolsky.
Houthis seize entire Red Sea coast of Yemen, government official says
Yemen's Iran-backed Houthis have seized control of the country's entire Red Sea coast, a military official from the internationally recognised government told AFP on Friday, consolidating the group's control of the vital waterway.
The official said that all territory under government control "on the western coast has fallen", after the Houthis seized the strategic Mayyun Island and the Greater and Lesser Hanish islands in the Bab al-Mandab strait as they seek to choke off Saudi oil exports.
Israel army rejects testimonies in film about AI-powered killing in Gaza
The Israeli military said it "categorically rejects" allegations made in a new documentary about Israel's AI-powered mass killing of civilians in Gaza, which received a 25-minute ovation at its premiere in Venice the day before.
The Israeli-made film "NAZA" uses conversations with 24 different Israeli military or intelligence whistleblowers who spoke on condition that their identities be protected, with interviewees describing how they felt like they worked in a killing "factory" or a lethal video game.
The Israeli military criticised the use of anonymous testimonies in the film which it said "cannot be verified", saying in a statement that it "makes unprecedented efforts to minimise harm to civilians" during its offensive in Gaza.
Houthis seize last two Bab al-Mandab islands, Yemen military official says
Yemen's Houthis seized Greater and Lesser Hanish, the last two islands that were not under their control in the Bab al-Mandab strait, a military official in the internationally recognised government told AFP.
"Everything that was under our control on the western coast has fallen," the official said, hours after the Houthis seized control of the strategic Mayyun Island, part of its campaign to consolidate its control over the vital shipping corridor.
Iran says Gulf states to meet in Oman to discuss safe Hormuz shipping routes on Monday
Iran is planning a meeting of the foreign ministers of Iraq and other Arab states bordering the Gulf in Oman on Monday to discuss safe commercial shipping routes through the Strait of Hormuz, Iranian foreign ministry spokesperson Esmaeil Baghaei said.
Houthis say shipping 'safe' except for Saudi vessels, vow further escalation
Yemen's Iran-aligned Houthis said maritime navigation remained safe for all shipping companies except Saudi vessels subject to a previously announced ban, the group's military spokesperson Yahya Saree said on Telegram on Friday.
"We will continue to enforce blockade for blockade and escalation for escalation until the aggression stops and the blockade on our people is lifted," he said.
Iran president says pressure on country at critical, dangerous stage
Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian said Friday that pressure on his country from the United States had reached a critical and dangerous stage, speaking in India ahead of a Brics summit.
"Iran has been subjected to heavy sanctions in recent years; this pressure has reached a critical and dangerous stage in recent months following the military aggression by the United States and Israel," he said, adding that "the world today is going through a period of unprecedented complexity".
Hamas says a top armed commander killed by Israel
Hamas' armed wing, the al-Qassam Brigades, said on Friday that Mohammed Abdel Salam al-Yazouri, who served as part of the group's higher leadership council and commander of its Khan Younis Brigade, was killed by Israel on Thursday evening.
The statement said al-Yazouri played a prominent role in planning Hamas' October 7, 2023 attack on Israel.
Six missiles hit Yemen's Red Sea Mocha port, local official says
Six missiles struck the port on Friday in Yemen's strategic Red Sea city of Mocha, now under Houthi control, a local official told AFP, without specifying where they came from.
"Six missiles targeted the Mocha port," the Yemeni government official said.
Earlier on Friday, media for the Iran-backed Houthis accused Saudi Arabia of launching two strikes on the airport in Mocha, which the Houthis seized on Thursday in a large-scale offensive against Riyadh-backed Yemeni government forces.
Israel says it's ready to hit Hezbollah again after tunnel detonation
Israel said Friday that it was prepared for more strikes on Hezbollah after demolishing tunnels built by the Iran-aligned group in southern Lebanon with a massive explosion.
"We are ready and prepared to continue the campaign, to continue striking Hezbollah and at additional locations," Defence Minister Israel Katz said in a video message.
Israel late Thursday blew up what it described as a vast network of tunnels under the strategic Ali al-Taher ridge where Hezbollah kept a command centre, living quarters and stocks of weapons with which to strike northern Israel and invading Israeli troops.
A huge fireball was seen in the area, with the US Geological Survey recording a tremor equivalent to a 4.1 magnitude earthquake.
The blast came a week after Israeli troops said they had seized the strategic highlands as they solidified control of an Israeli-occupied "security zone" in southern Lebanon.
Houthi advance in Yemen is a 'resounding victory', adviser to Iran's supreme leader says
An adviser to Iran's Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei called the advance in Yemen by Tehran-backed Houthi fighters a "resounding victory" on Friday, after they seized a key island in the strategic Bab al-Mandab strait.
"Congratulations on this resounding victory, Ansar Allah," Mohammad Mokhber wrote on X, referring to the Houthis by their formal name.
Houthis say there's 'no cause for concern' for free navigation through Bab al-Mandab strait
A member of the Houthis' politburo sought to allay global fears for international shipping through the crucial Bab al-Mandab waterway after fighters from the Iran-aligned group completed their takeover of the area.
"Freedom of navigation and international trade in the Red Sea and Bab al-Mandab are safe and orderly," Hazem al-Assad told the Al-Araby al-Jadeed news outlet. "There is no cause for international concern, as they face no danger from the Yemeni side."
At least 46,000 people flee escalating fighting in Yemen, UN reports
At least 46,000 people have been driven from their homes since the fighting resumed between the Iran-aligned Houthi group and pro-government forces in southwestern Yemen last week, the United Nations said.
"At least 46,000 people have been displaced in Yemen since fighting escalated last week," the UN's International Organization for Migration said in a statement, warning that "the number is alarmingly rising by the hour".
Yesterday's key developments:
- Saudi authorities issued brief alerts warning of potential danger in two areas near the border with Yemen , after the Iran-backed Houthi rebels said Riyadh launched dozens of air strikes on Yemen.
- A 4.1 magnitude earthquake was recorded in southern Lebanon by the US Geological Survey (USGS) after the Israeli military announced that it had blown up tunnels belonging to Hezbollah .
- Iran 's Revolutionary Guards said on Thursday its navy targeted a US unmanned surface vessel in the Strait of Hormuz .
(FRANCE 24 with Reuters, AP and AFP)
