Dubai: Airstrikes targeted two districts in the Yemeni capital of Sanaa, the Iran-backed Houthi rebels reported Monday, blaming Saudi Arabia for the airstrikes that occurred around midnight. Saudi Arabia did not immediately respond to the claim.
Here is the latest news from the Middle East Monday. Read our full coverage here.
One killed as airstrikes target Yemen’s capital
A spokesman for Yemen’s Houthi-run Health Ministry said Monday that airstrikes on the capital Sanaa killed one person and wounded 12 others.
Ministry spokesman Anees al-Asbahi said a strike on a salt factory in Sanaa’s Hamadan district killed a man and wounded eight people. A separate strike on a house wounded a woman and three children, he said.
The Iranian-backed rebels’ media centre blamed Saudi Arabia for the strikes, which came as the Houthis continued to fire missiles and drones toward the kingdom’s airports.
There was no immediate comment from Saudi Arabia.
Closure of Saudi capital’s airport extended
Saudi Arabia’s General Authority of Civil Aviation didn’t say Monday when King Khalid Airport in the capital of Riyadh will resume operations.
Houthi rebels have attacked the airport multiple times in recent days, killing at least 14 people and wounding at least 320 others.
Iran says ready to mediate end of war between Houthis and Saudi Arabia
Iran’s Foreign Ministry on Monday repeated the country’s readiness to help settle the conflict between Houthi rebels and Saudi Arabia through diplomatic means.
Ministry spokesman Esmail Baghaei said Iran was deeply concerned about the situation in the Arabian Peninsula and has announced its readiness to mediate talks between the two sides “many times.”
Baghaei said the war only serves Israeli interests and that Iran doesn’t accept the continuation of conflict between two Islamic nations.
He said Iran’s foreign minister, Abbas Araghchi, and his Saudi counterpart discussed developments on a phone call Sunday.
Businesses in Saudi capital tell employees to work from home
Businesses in Riyadh’s financial hub have told employees to work remotely after the Houthis increased attacks on the kingdom.
That’s according to multiple employees whose firms have offices at the King Abdullah Financial District. They spoke Monday on condition of anonymity for their safety.
The district is home to major financial institutions including the Saudi sovereign wealth fund and an Aramco office, the stock exchange and global firms like Goldman Sachs.
Authorities in Riyadh have also asked schools to switch to online classes this week following the deadly strikes on King Khalid International Airport over the weekend.
Iran hangs man it says was part of a militant group
Iran on Monday hanged a man convicted on charges of belonging to the Jaish al-Adl militant group and helping support attacks on security forces, official Mizan news agency reported.
Mizan, affiliated with Iran’s judiciary, identified the man as Omar Dorostaran, saying he provided logistical support to armed teams, including arranging safe houses, moving members and supplying weapons and ammunition.
The judiciary accused Dorostaran of supporting attacks on police and Revolutionary Guard facilities in Rask, as well as attacks on military sites in the southeastern port city of Chabahar in April 2024. In one attack on a police station in Rask, 11 police officers and soldiers were killed.
Jaish al-Adl, or the Army of Justice, is a Sunni militant group that emerged in 2012 and has repeatedly targeted Iranian security forces in southeastern Iran.
Former US top diplomat says Iranian regime’ must be crushed’
Former US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said Monday Iran-backed Houthi rebels’ deadly strikes on Saudi Arabia were a troubling development that underscored the US has not yet achieved its objectives in the war against Iran.
Speaking at a conference in Abu Dhabi focused on the postwar future of the Middle East, Pompeo said that “we collectively have not yet achieved deterrence.”
Pompeo, who served as secretary of State and CIA director during US President Donald Trump’s first term, said: “You have to crush the Iranian regime, period, full stop.
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