Yemen’s Iran-backed Houthi rebels have assured the administration of US President Donald Trump that they will not attack US vessels in the Red Sea, a senior Houthi official said Sunday.
However, the official warned other countries against joining Saudi Arabia in Yemen’s renewed civil war.
The comments came after the Houthis fired a ballistic missile toward Saudi Arabia’s capital over the weekend.
Meanwhile, Iran’s foreign minister is set to stop in Qatar before traveling to New York for the United Nations General Assembly. CIA Director John Ratcliffe also visited Egypt and met President Abdel-Fattah el-Sissi.
In the occupied West Bank, an Israeli man was shot dead, while Israeli forces said they killed a Palestinian man who tried to ram his vehicle into soldiers.
Houthi official warns countries against joining Yemen conflict
Mohamed al-Bukhaiti, a member of the Houthis’ political bureau, told The Associated Press that Washington contacted the group after its forces advanced rapidly along Yemen’s western coast toward the Bab el-Mandeb Strait earlier this month.
He said the Houthis had assured the US that they were not targeting American vessels or ships from other countries in the strait, except those linked to Saudi Arabia.
“We confirmed that we are not targeting the United States, or any other nation, in the strait, with the sole exception of the Saudi enemy,” al-Bukhaiti said in a Zoom interview from Sanaa, which is controlled by the Houthis.
Iran’s foreign minister to stop in Qatar
Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi will make a brief stop in Qatar before traveling to New York for the UN General Assembly, state-run IRNA reported.
Iran says it is waiting for a US response to conditions it conveyed through Qatar for ending the war.
Iran’s Supreme National Security Council chief Mohsen Rezaei told Al Jazeera that the conditions include ending the war on all fronts, releasing Iranian assets seized by the US and lifting the US naval blockade of Iranian ports.
Araghchi and President Masoud Pezeshkian are among senior Iranian officials granted US visas to attend the UN gathering.
CIA chief meets Egyptian president
CIA Director John Ratcliffe visited Egypt and met President Abdel-Fattah el-Sissi, according to the Egyptian president’s office.
El-Sissi expressed support for efforts to resolve the Iranian crisis and ensure freedom of navigation, while rejecting attacks against Arab countries.
He also called for the full implementation of the second phase of the US ceasefire plan for Gaza. Egypt has played a key role in mediating between the sides and shares a border with Gaza.
Israeli man killed in West Bank
A 30-year-old Israeli man was shot dead near the Neve Tzuf settlement north of Ramallah, hours before Yom Kippur, the holiest day in the Jewish calendar.
The Israeli military said the suspected attacker opened fire from a vehicle before fleeing on foot. Security forces later detained the suspect at a hospital, where he had gone for treatment after being wounded while fleeing.
The Samaria regional council identified the victim as Netanel Shakron, a settler who had been bathing at a spring ahead of Yom Kippur.
The United Nations said it was the second time this year that an Israeli civilian had been killed in a confrontation with a Palestinian in the West Bank.
Separately, the Israeli military said it killed a Palestinian man who attempted to ram soldiers at an intersection near Jenin in the northern West Bank. It said another man who was in the vehicle was being sought.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu condemned the attacks and instructed the military to expand its operations in the West Bank.
Tensions have risen sharply in the West Bank, where attacks by Israeli settlers against Palestinians have also increased. Earlier Sunday, Israeli troops conducted a major operation in the northern West Bank town of Al-Mughayyir. Palestinian officials said at least 28 people were detained.
Iran closes French-language center
Iranian authorities said they had closed a French-language center linked to the French Embassy in Tehran, accusing it of operating without a license and carrying out activities against national security.
Iran’s judiciary-run Mizan news agency said prosecutors ordered the closure after repeated warnings.
The agency alleged that the center used language courses as a cover for activities including identifying and building networks among Iranian elites and helping them leave the country. It did not provide evidence for the allegations.
The French Embassy did not immediately comment.
Six French nationals tried in Iraq over alleged IS links
Six French nationals have gone on trial in Iraq on suspicion of belonging to the Islamic State group, Iraqi judicial and security officials told AP.
The officials said the cases could require several legal proceedings before verdicts are issued. They spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to speak publicly.
The six are among 47 French nationals held in Iraq after being transferred from neighboring Syria earlier this year. They were among thousands of people suspected of having links to Islamic State.