The Saudi-led military coalition in support of the government in Yemen announced a large-scale operation against the Iran-backed Houthis, at a time when battles continue around the strategic Bab al-Mandab Strait region. The official spokesman for the coalition forces, Turki Al-Maliki, said on X: “We are carrying out a large-scale operation targeting the elements and capabilities of the terrorist Houthi militia.” He added, "We destroyed 136 military targets in areas controlled by the terrorist Houthi militia."
The Yemeni military sources said that government forces advanced in the Strait area but did not control it, and that Mayon Island, located in the heart of the strategic waterway, is still in the hands of the Houthis.
A government military source reported to AFP on Friday that forces loyal to the Yemeni government are engaged in "violent clashes" with the Houthis, as they begin a military operation to retake the Bab al-Mandab region. He pointed out that Saudi Arabia carried out air strikes "targeting Houthi sites in Bab al-Mandab in support of the ground operation."
For their part, the Houthis reported on Friday that an attack had occurred in the area and confirmed that it had been confronted. Their military spokesman, Yahya Saree, said via Telegram that his forces were able to "confront and expel the crowds of the Saudi enemy that tried to advance from the Lahj direction towards Bab al-Mandab, but did not make any progress."
Six people were killed this week in raids that targeted Saudi airports and were claimed by the Houthis.
Violent battles have been continuing on the ground in several areas of Yemen for weeks, and have witnessed a new escalation since Sunday, with government forces announcing the start of a counter-attack on the Houthis to reclaim areas they recently controlled.
Saudi Arabia is participating in the operation, especially by intensifying its air strikes. The battles during the past 24 hours in western Yemen, especially the Bab al-Mandab region and its environs, resulted in the killing of at least 63 people, including 35 government forces and 28 Houthi fighters, according to what military sources from both sides reported to Agence France-Presse on Saturday.
US President Donald Trump said on Friday that Russia had agreed to immediately supply more than 300,000 tons of diesel fuel to the United States and global markets, in a move aimed at reducing fuel prices before the midterm congressional elections scheduled for November.
This step comes at a time when diesel prices, used in agriculture, heating homes and transporting goods by truck, are approaching record levels before the congressional elections scheduled for November 3, which will determine which party controls Congress. Trump said in a social media post that he had a "very successful" conversation with his counterpart, Vladimir Putin, during which they agreed that Russia would immediately supply diesel.
In a post on X on Friday, shortly after the call, Putin's special envoy Kirill Dmitriev praised cooperation between Russia and the United States in the field of diesel and energy. Trump said Russia would import another 500,000 tons in November, and another 1 million tons “immediately after that.” Trump added that larger quantities would come later, "based on the condition of Russian diesel refineries" that were damaged by attacks during the Russian war on Ukraine.
This unusual step comes at a time when the United States imposed sanctions on Russian energy companies due to its war on Ukraine, which began in February 2022. The Treasury Department issued on Friday a general license allowing the import of Russian diesel until April 7 of next year. Diesel prices have jumped by 70 percent since the start of the Iran war this year.
The Iranian Revolutionary Guard announced on Friday that it attacked a gas tanker as it attempted to cross the Strait of Hormuz via an “illegal route.” The Guard explained in a statement reported by Iranian official media that its naval forces were fulfilling “the orders of the Supreme Commander of the Armed Forces and the desire of the Iranian people to exercise sovereignty over the Strait of Hormuz,” and in this context, “hours ago, they struck the giant gas tanker NV Sunshine while it was trying to pass through the illegal route south of the Strait of Hormuz.”
In another context, Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian said on Friday that the success of the talks aimed at ending the war with the United States remains dependent on the absence of “pressure and threats.” In his speech during the CIS summit in Turkmenistan, Pezeshkyan said, "Dialogue does not gain meaning and have no chances of success unless it is based on mutual respect and mutual commitments, and if it is free of pressures and threats."
On Thursday, Pezeshkyan met with his Russian counterpart, Vladimir Putin, after they arrived in Turkmenistan to participate in the summit of the Commonwealth of Independent States, an organization that includes former Soviet republics. The summit began on Friday at the Avaza resort overlooking the Caspian Sea. Iran and Russia are among the countries most subject to sanctions in the world.
The General Authority of Civil Aviation in Saudi Arabia announced today, Friday, that three Saudi citizens were killed and a number of citizens and residents were injured in two attacks that targeted King Khalid International Airport in Riyadh and a Saudi Airlines plane yesterday, Thursday. The authority said in a statement, “The first attack targeted airport facilities, while the second attack targeted a Saudi Airlines plane.”
She added that the injuries ranged from “minor to severe,” and that the two attacks resulted in material damage, noting that operational operations at the airport have resumed and air traffic has returned to normal.
The authority did not specify the party responsible for the two attacks, while the Houthis, allied with Iran, claimed responsibility for targeting the airport, and said they attacked it with two cruise missiles. The group also announced that it had targeted an airport in the city of Najran in southwestern Saudi Arabia, which was not confirmed by the Saudi authorities, and an air base in Khamis Mushait with ballistic missiles.
The attack comes in light of the escalation of the conflict in Yemen, as the Houthis say that their targeting of the Kingdom comes because of its support for government forces in the renewed civil war in Yemen. Saudi Arabia says it supports the attack launched by the internationally recognized Yemeni government to reclaim territory from the Houthis.
On Wednesday, the Saudi authorities announced the killing of three people in previous strikes this week that targeted Riyadh and Abha airports in the southwest of the Kingdom. King Khalid International Airport was also subjected to multiple attacks that resulted in the death of a Sudanese citizen earlier in the week.
The latest attack, according to the Associated Press, is the deadliest in Saudi Arabia since the kingdom and its allied forces in Yemen launched a large-scale military attack last weekend against the Iran-backed Houthis.
The escalation comes in the context of the war between the United States and Iran spilling over into conflict, which has fueled unrest in a region already suffering from instability due to the broader war, and threatens to drag other countries into the escalating fighting.
US President Donald Trump said on Thursday that his statements about the possibility of Iran "destroying" cities in California were misunderstood, and that he was actually referring to the need for people to bear high gasoline prices. Trump made these statements during a political rally in Nebraska on Monday while talking about the economic sacrifices that Americans make in times of war.
He said at the time, "Again, remember, it's only made in the shadow of war, it's a little high, it's a small price to pay. We pay a small price to keep the world safe and the security of our country. They can destroy a city. Let them destroy Los Angeles, let them destroy San Diego. That's a very small price, and it will be over very soon."
These statements were quickly criticized by California Democratic Party and Republican Party leaders. Trump said in a post on the Truth Social platform today, “What I was talking about is that a temporary rise in gasoline prices is a small price to pay for Iran not having a nuclear weapon.”
"If you want to see a high price, can you imagine what it would be like if they bombed San Diego or Los Angeles or both?" he continued, adding that he loved both cities. Trump previously ignored concerns about the cost of living resulting from the war with Iran.
Wirtschaftswohe magazine reported on Thursday, citing several Western intelligence officials without publishing their names, that Israel warned its partners in the United States and Germany three weeks ago of a potential threat.
Concerns focused on the bases that support American military operations and logistics services related to the Iran war, such as the Ramstein and Spangdahlem bases.
It has not yet been possible to obtain comment from the German Ministry of Defense or US forces in Germany.
The US Air Force has been present in Spangdahlem since the mid-1950s. Spangdahlem Air Base, along with Ramstein Base near Kaiserslautern in Rhineland-Palatinate, is one of the most important air bases and airports for the US Army.
Several years ago, there were plans to withdraw forces, during the first term of US President Donald Trump, but the US government did not implement those plans and froze them in 2021.
In response to reports that Damascus was considering military assistance to Saudi Arabia in its escalating war against the Houthi group in Yemen, the Syrian Ministry of Information stated on Wednesday evening that “Syria’s priority at the current stage is to rebuild the country, strengthen its institutions, and work with partners on reconstruction and improving the lives of Syrians.”
The Syrian Response account, affiliated with the Foreign Media Department of the Syrian Ministry of Information, said that Damascus’ position is “clear,” and that “any military cooperation with partner countries will only be through official channels and existing bilateral frameworks.”
On Wednesday evening, Axios reported from three American officials that Saudi Arabia and Syria were holding talks about sending between 10,000 and 20,000 Syrian soldiers to Yemen to join the counterattack against the Houthis.
Syrian President Ahmed Al-Sharaa made a public visit to Riyadh yesterday, Tuesday, and met with Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman. The American official said that the possibility of providing Syrian military assistance to the Kingdom was among the matters discussed during the visit.
Footage broadcast by Syrian government media showed Saudi Defense Minister Prince Khaled bin Salman, brother of the Crown Prince and responsible for the Yemeni file, accompanying him to his plane on the way back.
Damascus' intervention in Yemen carries risks
The factions that once made up the armed opposition are now under the authority of the emerging Syrian state, which has adopted a policy of avoiding involvement in conflicts, including the Iran war, to focus on recovering from the 14-year civil war.
The state is still working to build its army from various factions of the previous opposition coalition that ousted Assad, which included many hardline Sunni Islamist fighters and foreign fighters, and is trying to contain tensions with minorities, including the Alawites, a branch of Shiite Islam to which Assad belongs.
The American official said that any conflict between this army and the Houthis, who also follow one of the Shiite sects, may carry divisive religious connotations, which is what the Syrian leadership and its Western partners want to avoid. For this reason, Syria previously rejected a US request for assistance in fighting the Hezbollah group in Lebanon.
Engaging in a battle against the Houthis who are allied with Iran may also be viewed as a hostile act by Iran and its allies Hezbollah in Lebanon and the armed factions in Iraq, which are parties engaged in a historical conflict with the armed Syrian opponents who have become rulers in Syria.
He was keen to show support
At the same time, Al-Sharaa is keen to show Syria's support for Saudi Arabia and Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, who played a crucial role in helping him gain international legitimacy, including by brokering a meeting in May 2025 between him and US President Donald Trump.
The American official said that Saudi Arabia provided financial aid to Syria, and expressing Syrian support may lead to an increase in that aid.
“For the new Syria to send personnel on defensive missions in very small numbers to the holiest sites in the Islamic world, along with providing technical support to neutralize incoming drones, will carry enormous and positive symbolic connotations,” said H. A. Hellyer, a senior research fellow at the Royal United Services Institute in London. He added, "But anything beyond that, especially with regard to the presence of Syrian forces on the ground, I think would be a completely different proposition, and I think Damascus would avoid it, given the priorities it has to focus on in Syria."
