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Saudi airstrikes killed three people, including two children, and wounded two others in Yemen’s Taiz province, a Houthi health ministry spokesperson said Tuesday. Anees al Asbahi said in a post on X that the strikes were carried out by Saudi warplanes. The claim could not be independently verified, and the Houthis did not say what was targeted. The reported strikes came as Houthi forces expanded their control over strategic areas in the Red Sea, including the Greater and Lesser Hanish islands, after capturing the port of Mokha and another strategic island last week. The developments are raising concerns over shipping through the Red Sea and could put further pressure on global oil supplies as disruptions continue in the Strait of Hormuz. Meanwhile, Human Rights Watch said at least three Houthi attacks on commercial vessels between July 20 and Aug. 24 could amount to war crimes. The rights group urged the Houthis to immediately halt unlawful attacks on civilian ships. Oman’s Maritime Security Center said a Panama-flagged oil tanker, the El Gaia, was towed to port after being targeted. A fire broke out in its engine room, 23 crew members were evacuated and two remained missing. Separately, Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman visited Cairo for talks with Egyptian President Abdel-Fattah el-Sissi, while Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan called for renewed diplomacy and the restoration of safe and uninterrupted passage through the Strait of Hormuz. China also said Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi would visit Beijing on Wednesday for talks with Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi.

Iranian authorities have seized properties belonging to 240 people accused of affiliations with Israel and other "hostile countries," state media reported. According to the Iranian judiciary, the individuals carried out propaganda or practical actions against the country, resulting in extensive damage to national infrastructure. A Ministry of Justice spokesperson told media that the confiscated properties belong to the Iranian nation and that the judiciary will follow up so the assets can be used to compensate victims. The actions follow Iran's passage of an enhanced espionage law last year, which allows for the death penalty and the confiscation of all assets for aiding the United States, Israel, or any other "hostile" state or group. Under the law, offenses range from "conferring legitimacy" on Israel to sharing images or information with foreign networks. With inputs from Al Jazeera

Yemen’s Houthi group said Sunday that Saudi warplanes carried out 58 airstrikes in six provinces over the past 24 hours as clashes between the Houthis and Yemeni government forces intensified on several fronts. Houthi military spokesperson Yahya Sarea said in a post on X that the reported strikes targeted areas across Yemen, including Taiz in the southwest, Lahj in the south, Al-Jawf and Saada in the north, Hajjah in the northwest and Al-Bayda in the central region. Sarea claimed that F-15 fighter jets conducted the attacks after departing from the King Khalid Air Base in Khamis Mushait, a southwestern Saudi city close to the Yemeni border. He described the strikes as Saudi “aggression.” Saudi Arabia has not yet responded to the allegations, while the reported casualties remain unknown. The reported airstrikes came as the Houthis continued a broad offensive that began Sept. 3 and has significantly altered front lines along Yemen’s Red Sea coast. The group has taken several areas previously controlled by government forces in Hodeidah and neighboring Taiz provinces. The Houthis captured the strategically important port of Mocha on Thursday before advancing toward the Bab al-Mandab area on Friday and taking Mayun Island, which lies at the center of the strategic strait. The developments have strengthened the Houthis’ control over the crucial maritime passage connecting the Red Sea with the Gulf of Aden. Houthi forces then moved farther south toward Lahj province, bringing the fighting closer to Aden, where Yemen’s internationally recognized government is based. Yemen’s conflict began in late 2014 when the Houthis seized Sanaa and large parts of the country’s north. Saudi Arabia and its allies intervened the following year in support of the internationally recognized government.

Yemen's government forces said Sunday that more than 500 soldiers were killed and nearly 1,500 injured during month-long clashes with Houthi rebels along the country's western coast, as the insurgent group executed a major advance toward the strategic Bab al-Mandab Strait. In a statement broadcast on media, the government's National Resistance Forces reported that the casualties were recorded between Aug. 9 and Sept. 10. The forces also claimed that over 1,000 Houthi fighters were killed and thousands more wounded, though these figures could not be independently verified. Military officials said the fighting began with Houthi missile, drone and explosive-boat strikes before expanding from Hays, in the southern part of Hodeidah province along the Red Sea, to multiple battlefronts in neighboring Taiz province in the southwest. The casualties follow a sweeping offensive launched by the Houthis on Sept. 3 that rapidly redrew front lines along Yemen's Red Sea coast, resulting in the capture of several government-controlled areas across Hodeidah and Taiz provinces. Rebel forces captured the strategic port city of Mocha on Thursday before pushing south into the Bab al-Mandab area on Friday. They seized Mayun Island in the center of the strait, tightening control over the crucial shipping chokepoint connecting the Red Sea to the Gulf of Aden. Houthi troops subsequently advanced farther south toward neighboring Lahj province, where retreating government troops had regrouped, bringing active combat closer to Aden, the temporary seat of Yemen's internationally recognized government. Yemen's civil conflict originally erupted in late 2014 when Houthi forces captured the capital, Sanaa, along with large portions of northern Yemen. The takeover prompted a Saudi-led military coalition to intervene in March 2015 to support the country's internationally recognized government.

An Iranian commercial vessel was struck early Sunday near the Strait of Hormuz, leaving one person dead and three others wounded, Iranian state media reported. The vessel was hit off Qeshm Island, according to the reports. The United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations (UKMTO) separately said a vessel was struck by a projectile while transiting the Strait of Hormuz, but provided no further details. There was no immediate comment from the US military. US forces have previously targeted Iranian-flagged vessels as part of an ongoing blockade of Iranian ports. The incident came amid heightened tensions around the strategic waterway, which Iran says had been regarded as an international route before the United States and Israel launched their war on Feb. 28. Iran said Saturday that foreign ministers from regional countries would meet to discuss efforts by Iran and Oman, located on opposite sides of the strait, to manage shipping through the vital waterway.

Saudi Arabia and Yemen’s Iran-backed Houthi forces have traded strikes as fighting intensifies around the strategic Bab al-Mandeb chokepoint on Yemen’s Red Sea coast. The escalation comes as Houthi forces have seized Mayun Island, also known as Perim, giving the group a strategic position in the Bab al-Mandeb Strait and strengthening its control over Yemen’s Red Sea coastline. US President Donald Trump said the Houthis had contacted Washington and asked it not to intervene in the conflict involving Yemen’s internationally recognized government. The developments came amid wider regional tensions after Iraq temporarily closed three border crossings with Iran following a drone attack launched from Iraqi territory that targeted Saudi Arabia’s East-West oil pipeline. Saudi Arabia suspended the pipeline as a precaution and has so far held off on an immediate response. Meanwhile, Iran is expected to meet Gulf states in Oman on Monday to discuss the Strait of Hormuz and efforts to promote regional security. Houthis gain strategic foothold Mayun Island, a 13-square-kilometre volcanic island in the middle of the Bab al-Mandeb Strait, divides the waterway into two channels and overlooks one of the world’s most important maritime routes. The Houthis also control nearby coastal areas, including the port city of Mocha, strengthening their ability to threaten shipping through the strategic waterway. Security analyst Wolfgang Pusztai told Al Jazeera that the Houthis now have “the real capability to shut down any maritime traffic through Bab al-Mandeb if they want to”. However, maintaining control of the island could prove more difficult than capturing it. Andreas Krieg of King’s College London said the Houthis are in a strong position to defend Mayun in the short term because of their control of nearby territory, but the island could be difficult to defend against an amphibious assault over a longer period. The Bab al-Mandeb is a major global shipping route connecting the Red Sea with the Gulf of Aden, making control of the waterway strategically important for regional powers and international trade.

Iraq’s government was racing Saturday to contain the fallout after local Iran-backed militias were accused of attacking and shuttering a key Saudi pipeline. Iraq's government confirmed the attacks had originated from its territory, pledged to investigate and dismissed a military commander. The country is under mounting pressure to prevent local militias from aiding other Iran proxy groups across the region. It's especially acute as the Iran-backed Houthi rebels make an advance across Yemen’s west coast in a major setback to the Saudi-backed coalition that risks escalating the war in the region. The Iraqi government has set a Sept. 30 deadline for nonstate groups to disarm, but several of the most powerful militias have said they will not comply. The Houthis on Friday seized an island in the Bab el-Mandeb Strait, a key shipping lane through which around 12% of global trade passes. Their virtual control of the strait could send global oil prices — already inflated by the six-month Iran-U.S. war — spiraling. The strait has become a vital commercial lane for Saudi oil ever since the Iran war disrupted shipping in the Strait of Hormuz. Iraq to investigate attack on Saudi pipeline Iraqi authorities determined that attacks targeting the east-west Saudi pipeline were launched from a site in the country’s Maysan province on the borders with Iran, the government said in a statement early Saturday. Prime Minister Ali al-Zaidi ordered an investigation into the province’s operations command and dismissed its commander, the Saturday statement said. Saudi Arabia shut down the major, cross-country oil pipeline on Friday, saying it was a “precautionary measure” after the pipeline came under drone attack. In a statement, the Saudi Foreign Ministry blamed the attacks on several drones that came from Iraq, but said the kingdom would not retaliate, to give the Iraqi government “an opportunity to take the necessary measures.” Built in the 1980s, the East-West pipeline has played an important role in Saudi Arabia’s ability to export oil following the disruption of the Strait of Hormuz during the Iran war. By early June, Saudi Arabia had more than doubled oil exports from the Red Sea port at the pipeline’s end to more than 5 million barrels per day, according to the International Energy Agency. Tehran-backed Iraqi militias have carried out strikes on U.S.-linked targets both inside and outside of Iraq since the U.S. and Israel attacked Iran on Feb. 28, and have coordinated with Yemen’s Houthi rebels to attack Saudi Arabia. Iran closes border crossings with Iran In a move possibly linked to the investigation, Iraq closed two key border crossings with Iran, Iraq’s state-run news agency reported Saturday. The report said that Iraqi officials were at the border, investigating previous “violations and infractions” at the crossings. Valiollah Hayati, the deputy governor of Iran’s southwestern Khuzestan province, named the closed crossings as Shalamcheh and Chazabeh. They are among the main official border crossings between Iran and Iraq. Iranian state media said the measure would halt all passenger and commercial traffic through the two crossings until further notice. Saudi Arabia and the United States bombed Iranian-backed militias in Iraq in July after blaming them for drone attacks on Saudi oil facilities that had been claimed by the Houthis. Regional officials told The Associated Press that the Houthis helped the Iraqi militias plan and execute the attacks. The fighting threatens to reignite Yemen’s civil war The escalating fighting threatens to end a fragile truce that had largely halted Yemen’s civil war since 2022. At stake are 40 million people in the Arab world’s poorest country. The conflict killed 150,000 and brought many others to the brink of famine. The surge in fighting in the past week has sent over 46,000 people fleeing, the U.N. migration agency said Friday. The Houthis have been at war with Yemen’s government since 2014, when the rebels seized much of northern and central Yemen and the capital, Sanaa. Saudi Arabia entered the war the following year on behalf of the government.

Iranian-backed Houthi rebels in Yemen captured Mayun island at the entrance to the Red Sea Friday, after seizing the port of Mokha Thursday, threatening international shipping. Iran urged Saudi Arabia to end its blockade of Yemen and resume talks. Mayun is a strategic alternative route for Saudi oil and other exports amid Iranian attacks on vessels in the Strait of Hormuz. The seizure was confirmed by officials from Yemen’s internationally recognized government and the Houthis, who spoke anonymously. Saudi Arabia responded by striking Mokha airport, with no immediate reports of casualties or damage. Saudi airstrikes hit Houthi-held Mokha airport as rebels seize strategic island About 12% of global goods normally pass through the Bab el-Mandeb Strait, which is vital to Saudi Arabia. Its long-running blockade of Houthi-held Yemen has contributed to attacks on Saudi shipping. Iran backed negotiations, while Yemen’s National Defense Council condemned renewed Houthi attacks on Saudi Arabia. AI company Anthropic said it blocked users in northern Houthi-held Yemen who used Claude Code to develop advanced ballistic and hypersonic missiles. No evidence showed a weapon was deployed. Iran denies arming the Houthis.

Saudi Arabia carried out airstrikes on an airport in the key Yemeni port city of Mokha after Iran-backed Houthi rebels seized the facility and captured a strategic island in the Bab el-Mandeb Strait, according to Houthi media and Yemeni officials. The Houthi broadcaster reported that Saudi warplanes struck Mokha airport, which the rebels took control of on Thursday. There were no immediate reports of casualties or damage from the strikes. The Houthis also captured Mayun, a small volcanic island in the Bab el-Mandeb Strait at the entrance to the Red Sea, two officials confirmed Friday. The capture was confirmed by a senior military official from Yemen’s internationally recognized government and a Houthi official. Both spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to speak to the media. Mayun, also known as Perim, lies about 3.5 kilometers off Yemen’s western coast and occupies a strategic position along a major global shipping route. Houthi political bureau member Hazam al-Assad said there was “no need for international concern,” arguing that the rebels were responding to Saudi aggression. He warned that the Houthis had “a bank of big important targets” if Riyadh continued its attacks. There was no immediate comment from Saudi Arabia. Earlier Friday, Iran called for an end to Saudi Arabia’s blockade of Yemen and backed the Houthis, while its Foreign Ministry urged Saudi Arabia and the rebels to return to negotiations. The Houthis’ capture of Mokha, which overlooks tanker routes linking the Red Sea, could further threaten Saudi oil exports and international shipping through the Bab el-Mandeb Strait. Experts said the developments could also strengthen Tehran’s position in any future negotiations with Washington by opening another pressure point in the region. The Houthis entered Mokha on Thursday in their biggest territorial advance in years against Saudi-backed forces, bringing them closer to the Bab el-Mandeb, an important alternative shipping route to the Strait of Hormuz. A senior official from Yemen’s internationally recognized government said the Saudi air force had failed to strike the Houthis earlier as they advanced toward Mokha, suggesting Riyadh may not have received US approval for a large-scale air campaign. The official blamed a lack of coordination between Yemen’s army and allied forces for giving the Houthis a major opportunity to advance. The Houthis have attacked shipping in the Bab el-Mandeb and the Red Sea since declaring a blockade there in July, as well as targeting Saudi oil infrastructure. The rebels have said the attacks were in response to the Saudi blockade of Houthi-held areas of Yemen. Any further disruption to the waterway could affect global shipping and push up crude oil prices. Saudi Arabia has increasingly relied on the Red Sea and Bab el-Mandeb to transport its oil as Iran has targeted vessels in the Strait of Hormuz. About 12 percent of global goods normally pass through the Bab el-Mandeb, while shipping through the waterway had already fallen by around 60 percent after the Houthis began attacking vessels there in late 2023. The latest Houthi advances also threaten to undermine a fragile truce that has largely kept Yemen’s civil war at a low level since 2022. Yemen’s Saudi-backed government on Friday condemned the renewed Houthi attacks and called for international support, saying the country was on the front line of efforts to ensure freedom of navigation. The escalation has already forced more than 46,000 people to flee their homes over the past week, according to the UN migration agency. Large numbers of people were reportedly seen leaving Mokha with their belongings. The conflict has raised fears of a return to full-scale civil war in Yemen, where about 40 million people live. The Houthis have been fighting Yemen’s government since 2014, when they seized large parts of northern and central Yemen, including the capital Sanaa. Saudi Arabia intervened the following year in support of the government.

Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) top commander in Tehran, Hassan Hassanzadeh, declared that Iran has moved beyond defensive operations and is now "on the threshold of offensive operations," state-run media reported. "This is a turning point whose effects the enemies will soon understand," Hassanzadeh said. He said that Iranian forces are prepared to deploy to any point in the country at high speed and destroy the enemy under any circumstances. Hassanzadeh noted that Iran's capacity for rapid transportation as well as specialized and special operations has been developed through repeated exercises in recent years. The commander also denied claims by Donald Trump that the U.S. has destroyed Iran's military capabilities. With inputs from Al Jazeera