Iran war updates: Strikes hit Houthis in Taiz, coalition intercepts attacks

Our 24-hour coverage of the US-Israel war on Iran, the fighting in Yemen and Israeli attacks on Gaza continues.

For all the latest developments, analysis and reactions, follow our new live page here.

Here’s where things stand across the region today:

• US President Donald Trump says the US Navy is carrying out an effective blockade of Iran and that no Iranian ship has been able to cross the Strait of Hormuz.
• US Central Command says US forces have helped Gulf allies ship more than 100 million barrels of crude oil through the strait over the past seven days.
• Explosions have rocked Aden, the interim seat of Yemen’s internationally recognised government, our colleagues on the ground report. The government says Houthi forces targeted Aden International Airport with two missiles.
• The UK Foreign Office has widened its advice against all but essential travel to cover the whole of Saudi Arabia, extending a warning that previously applied to specific regions and cities.

The transport minister in Yemen’s internationally recognised government says a missile attack on Aden International Airport endangered 151 passengers aboard a Yemenia flight preparing to depart for Cairo.

Speaking near where one of two missiles landed, the minister blamed the Houthis and said: “Unfortunately, the airport was shelled at that moment, which could have caused a major humanitarian catastrophe.”

He said passengers were evacuated from Yemenia flight 612 and left the airport. A second missile landed near the end of the runway, he added.

An incoming Fly Aden flight from Cairo was instructed to divert to either Seiyun airport, the minister said.

“Aden International Airport does not only serve areas under the internationally recognised government,” he said. “It serves all Yemeni cities, from al-Mahra to Saada.”

He added that the airport served “patients, Yemenis living abroad and students”.

Yemen’s government forces say they have captured a Houthi team specialising in operating and controlling drones in the southwestern governorate of Taiz.

In a statement posted on Facebook, the army’s 35th Armoured Brigade said its troops detained the team on the al-Aqrud–Kahlan front, southeast of Taiz.

The announcement comes amid escalating fighting in Taiz this month, with worsening humanitarian conditions and thousands displaced by clashes and restrictions on supply routes.

Saudi Civil Defence has lifted the early warning alerts it had issued for Abha city and the Khamis Mushait governorate in southwestern Saudi Arabia.

Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian has decried the ecological damage caused by conflict in the Middle East, calling it “environmental genocide”.

He called for international solutions while addressing leaders at a UN biodiversity summit in Armenia.

Watch our video below:

Britain’s Foreign Office has widened its advice against all but essential travel to cover the whole of Saudi Arabia, extending a warning that previously applied to specified regions and cities.

The guidance, updated on Friday, maintained the stricter warning against all travel within 10 kilometres (six miles) of the Yemen border.

The ministry warned of heightened threats to airports, military facilities, ports and energy infrastructure, saying further airport attacks, disruption and cancellations were “very likely”.

It advised British nationals to stay away from Riyadh’s King Khalid International Airport until it was secure. Those wishing to leave the kingdom should consider travelling overland to a neighbouring country and flying from there, it said.

Opening a website or refreshing an app can be enough to expose a device to spyware, without clicking a link or downloading a file.

An investigation by Canada-based research group Citizen Lab linked Israeli spyware firm Candiru to attacks targeting 45 devices used by Al Jazeera staff in June 2025, including journalists covering sensitive subjects.

Researchers found that Discover-Tech, an Israeli company presenting itself as a legitimate advertising firm, used targeted advertisements to redirect staff devices to a server belonging to Candiru.

The technique exploits the automated auctions behind online advertising, allowing attackers to identify particular users and deliver malicious code through advertisements appearing on their screens.

Once installed, spyware can steal documents and saved credentials, capture keystrokes and screenshots, and record microphone or webcam input.

Discover-Tech advertisements also appeared on sensitive networks used by governments and organisations including NATO and the United Nations. Their appearance, however, does not establish that devices on those networks were infected.

Al Jazeera Media Network condemned the targeting of its staff and called for those responsible to be held accountable.

Read more here.

Qatar’s prime minister and foreign minister, Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman bin Jassim Al Thani, has demanded Israel’s withdrawal from all occupied areas in southern Lebanon.

Watch our video below for more:

Israeli settlers brutalised Palestinians picking olives across the occupied West Bank and beat up foreign journalists reporting on the violence.

Here’s a look at what happened:

Israeli settlers carried out at least 34 armed attacks and pogroms targeting Palestinian farmers and journalists, backed by Israeli forces across the occupied Palestinian territory, according to the Palestinian Wafa news agency.

Here’s what happened:

• 15 settler pogroms were recorded in Ramallah and al-Bireh, 13 in Bablid and two in Salfit and Jenin and one each Tulkaram and Hebron.
• At least 19 Palestinians were injured during settler attacks on Friday, while others – including women, children and elderly people – were treated for tear gas inhalation after gas was fired by Israeli forces.
• At least two foreign journalists, including Washington Post photojournalist Heidi Levin, were brutally assaulted.
• The attacks also targeted farmers in Qabalan, Burin and Majdal Bani Fadil, while olive theft was reported in Aqraba.
• Israeli forces used live ammunition during a raid on Palestinian homes in the town of Jaba, south of Jenin.
• At least three Palestinians were detained during an Israeli forces raid on the al-Fawwar camp south of Hebron.
• Israeli forces fired tear gas at Palestinians after storming the Arroub camp north of Hebron.
• A Palestinian man and his two children were injured in an attack by Israeli settlers on the village of Burqa east of Ramallah.
• Israeli soldiers detained a number of Palestinian olive pickers near the town of Tuqu south of Bethlehem.
• Settlers set fire to a vehicle owned by Palestinian farmers near the town of Qabalan southeast of Nablus.

EU leaders strongly condemned actions, policies and rhetoric that “undermine [the] viability” of a two-state solution to the Israel – Palestinian conflict, according to the declaration of the EU Summit in Brussels.

The statement comes amid settler pogroms across the occupied West Bank on Friday – in which Palestinians and journalists were brutally attacked by armed Israeli settlers.

Iran’s Foreign Ministry has denied Iranian involvement in Houthi attacks on Saudi Arabia.

The ministry’s spokesperson, Esmail Baghaei, said in a statement that “Iran rejects any claim that Iran has played a role in Yemeni operations.”

Baghaei added that Iran is ready to help find a “peaceful resolution” to the conflict in Yemen “should the parties involved request” Iran’s mediation.

Saudi Arabia had accused Iran of having encouraged the Yemeni group’s recent escalation against the kingdom.

Qatar’s interior minister, Sheikh Khalifa bin Hamad bin Khalifa Al Thani, has discussed ways to enhance security cooperation with his Egyptian counterpart, Lieutenant General Mahmoud Tawfiq in Cairo.

In a post on X, Sheikh Khalifa said the two sides signed a memorandum of understanding to cooperate on combating crime, and coordination and joint action to confront security challenges.

US Central Command (CENTOCM) says US forces have helped Gulf allies to ship more than 100 million barrels of crude oil over the past seven days through the Strait of Hormuz.

Brad Cooper, commander of CENTCOM, said the US in total helped its allies in the region transport 1.3 billion barrels through the strait in recent months.

“Over the past seven days about 400 merchant ships have sailed through the Strait of Hormuz,” he added.

Cooper also claimed the US “prevented Iran from exporting at least 25 billion dollars worth of crude oil”, adding, “The Strait of Hormuz is controlled by the United States and our regional partners, not Iran.”

Qatar’s prime minister and foreign minister has demanded Israel’s withdrawal from all occupied areas in southern Lebanon, while condemning Israeli attacks on peacekeeping forces.

Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman bin Jassim Al Thani made the remarks during his news conference with Lebanese Prime Minister Nawaf Salam in Beirut on Friday.

Sheikh Mohammed said Qatar would continue efforts to support Lebanese armed forces.