Yemen launches missiles at Israel amid widening war fears

• Yemen's Iran-aligned Houthis launched missiles at Israel, their first such attack since the Iran war began, heightening the risk that a conflict that has entered its fifth week could expand further across the region. READ MORE BELOW

• Egypt's Foreign Minister Badr Abdelatty will travel to Pakistan to meet with his counterparts from Pakistan, Saudi Arabia and Türkiye for talks on the Iran war as Islamabad positions itself as a potential venue for US-Iran negotiations on the month-old conflict. READ MORE BELOW

• Israeli strikes in southern Lebanon have killed five people and wounded nine others in the municipality of al-Hanniye, civil defense officials say. Al Jazeera Arabic reported that the attack targeted Syrian farmers working in the area.

• Iran's Red Crescent Society says Israeli-US air strikes have damaged more than 93,000 civilian properties — including over 71,000 homes, 20,000 commercial sites, 295 health facilities and 600 schools. In Tehran alone, more than 31,000 residential and commercial units were hit, with damage also reported to ambulances, emergency vehicles and rescue helicopters.

• Stock markets tumbled sharply on fears the conflict will drag on, while the Brent crude oil topped $112, up more than 50 percent since the war began.

• Iran launched multiple waves of missiles at Israel overnight, killing one and causing several impacts in the Tel Aviv area from cluster munitions and debris from intercepted missiles.

• An Iranian attack on an air base in Saudi Arabia wounded 12 US military personnel, two seriously, a US official told reporters.

• The United Arab Emirates and Bahrain reported missile attacks early, with five people injured and fires reported after a missile was intercepted near Abu Dhabi's Khalifa Port, one of the Gulf's main deepwater container ports.

• At least five people were killed and seven injured after a US-Israeli attack on a residential unit in Iran's northwestern city of Zanjan, Iranian media reported. The Iran University of Science and Technology in Tehran was also struck, media reported.

• Bahrain denied that it was cracking down on citizens based on their religious identity after activists reported a slew of arrests they said had mainly targeted Shias amid the Middle East war.  

• Bahrain's military says it has intercepted and destroyed 174 Iranian missiles and 385 drones targeting the country since the start of the US-Israeli war on Iran a month ago.

• A spokesperson for IRGC's Khatam al-Anbiya headquarters said Iranian forces targeted a US military support vessel “at a considerable distance from the port of Salalah in Oman.”

• Production at a major Iranian steel plant has been suspended after Israeli strikes hit key facilities, according to local media citing the company operating the facility. The Khuzestan Steel Company said its “production lines have been shut down” after several units were damaged in Friday’s attacks.

• Kuwait International Airport was targeted by multiple drone attacks that caused significant damage to its radar system but resulted in no casualties. The country's Civil Aviation Authority said the attacks were carried out by Iran, its proxies, and the armed factions it supports.

IN DETAIL

Yemen's Iran-aligned Houthis launched missiles at Israel on Saturday, their first such attack since the Iran war began.

The Houthis, whose involvement risks broadening and prolonging a war that has entered its fifth week, said their operations would continue until the "aggression" on all fronts ended. Israel said it had intercepted a missile from Yemen.

The war, launched with US and Israeli strikes on Iran on February 28, has spread across the Middle East, killing thousands and causing the biggest disruption ever to energy supplies, hitting the global economy and fuelling inflation fears.

The Houthis had said on Friday they were prepared to act if what the group called an escalation against Iran and the "Axis of Resistance" continued in the war.

The group has shown an ability to strike targets far beyond Yemen and disrupt shipping lanes around the Arabian Peninsula and the Red Sea, as they did in support of Hamas in Gaza after October 7, 2023.

If the Houthis open a new front in the conflict, one obvious target would be the Bab al-Mandab Strait off the coast of Yemen, a key shipping choke point that controls sea ​traffic towards the Suez Canal, after Iran effectively shut the critical Strait of Hormuz.

Pakistan hosts talks with Türkiye, Saudi Arabia and Egypt 

Pakistan will host Saudi Arabia, Türkiye and Egypt for talks from Sunday on the Iran war as Islamabad positions itself as a potential venue for US-Iran negotiations on the month-old conflict.

Pakistan's Prime Minister Shehbaz ⁠Sharif has also held a phone conversation with Iran's President Masoud Pezeshkian.

The four countries' foreign ministers will hold "in-depth discussions on a range of issues, including efforts to de-escalate tensions in the region" during the two-day talks, Pakistan's foreign ministry said in a statement.

Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan said the meeting would seek to establish a mechanism aimed at de-escalation.

“We would discuss where the negotiations in this war are heading and how these four countries assess the situation and what can be done," he told broadcaster A Haber.

The four nations have been involved in trying to mediate between Washington and Tehran in the war launched by the US and Israel on February 28, and all are acutely vulnerable to threats to energy supplies and trade routes.

Pakistan has conveyed to Tehran a US proposal for ending the war and offered to host talks, with Iranian officials indicating any negotiations could take place in Pakistan or Türkiye. 

Two people familiar with the back-channel efforts expressed doubt that direct talks would take place anytime soon.

US President Donald Trump has appeared eager to wind down the unpopular war, emphasizing this week what he called productive negotiations with Iran aimed at reaching a diplomatic end to the conflict, but Tehran denies talking with Washington.

On Thursday, Trump extended a deadline by 10 days for Iran to reopen the Strait of Hormuz or face attacks against power stations and other energy infrastructure. While those strikes were on hold, the US and Israel have continued to bomb Iran.