Yemeni authorities said six people were killed by Iran-backed Houthi rebels who attacked a ship in the Bab el-Mandeb Strait, while US forces fired on a ship they said was trying to break a blockade of Iran’s ports. Here’s a look at the latest developments in the Iran war and across the Middle East. Full coverage can be found here. Four crew members and two allied fighters killed, Yemen says Six people were killed on Tuesday when the Houthis fired missiles at a ship in the Bab el-Mandeb Strait, Yemeni authorities said. Yemen’s coast guard said the dead included four crew members and two members of the government-allied National Resistance Forces. The Houthis fired three ballistic missiles at the Yemeni commercial ship, according to the Ministry of Transportation of Yemen’s internationally recognized government. They are the first known deaths from Houthi attacks on ships off Yemen in the latest episode of fighting in the Arab country. With the Strait of Hormuz effectively closed by Iran, there has been a renewed focus on the Red Sea and the Bab el-Mandeb Strait at the southern tip of Yemen, which is an alternative route for Saudi Arabia to ship its oil. The deadly ship attack came amid Houthi attacks on the government-controlled Red Sea port city of Mokha and other areas of the country. Dozens of government troops and civilians have been killed in attacks since last week, according to the Yemeni military. The attacks are part of an escalation by the Houthis against government forces in Yemen and oil facilities in neighboring Saudi Arabia, which supports the Yemeni government, and the kingdom’s shipping in the Red Sea. Houthi attacks could reignite Yemen’s civil war after a 2022 truce and open a new front in the Middle East war. Mohammed Abdul-Salam, the Houthis’ chief negotiator and spokesman, accused Saudi Arabia in a social media post of exploiting the ceasefire to reinforce an air and sea blockade it imposed in 2015. He said the Houthis are open to negotiations but that any deal must include lifting the blockade. US fires on ship it said was trying to break Iran blockade The US military said Tuesday its forces fired on a Panama-flagged ship in the Gulf of Oman that was trying to evade the US blockade of Iranian ports. The move came as US President Donald Trump attempts to maintain economic pressure on the Islamic Republic. US Central Command said the ship had ignored warnings to stop, prompting a US helicopter to fire missiles into the M/V Vela Nova’s engine room, disabling the ship. The statement did not specify whether the ship’s crew suffered any casualties. Subscribe to Morning Wire: Our flagship newsletter breaks down the day’s biggest headlines. On Tuesday night, Trump insisted that the US military has “full control” over the Strait of Hormuz, even though Iran has maintained its attacks on ships in the waterway, largely preventing traffic there. “Iran is doing well, absolutely fine,” he told reporters after a trip to Ohio. “We totally control the Strait of Hormuz. We have control over it. Nobody else. Just us,” Trump said. Central Command said it has rerouted 55 commercial vessels that were attempting to execute the blockade, disabled three non-compliant vessels and boarded two. The US Navy currently has more than 15 warships, including two aircraft carriers and an amphibious assault ship, stationed in the waters of the Arabian Sea. Iran has refused to back down on demands that the US end its blockade of Iranian ports, lift sanctions on the Islamic Republic and meet other conditions. Iran effectively closed the strait after Israel and the US attacked the country on February 28. Traded oil supplies passed before the war, and uncertainty about their future has kept energy prices a major focus of American politics ahead of November’s midterm elections. Pakistani official returns to Iran in hopes of easing tensions with the United States Pakistani Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi traveled to Tehran on Tuesday to meet Iran’s foreign minister and other officials. Naqvi’s visit was aimed at encouraging Iran to resume negotiations with the United States under an interim peace deal brokered by Pakistan in June, two officials said. They spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to speak to the media. Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi posted photos of his meeting with Naqvi on his private Telegram channel. It is Naqvi’s sixth trip to Iran as part of Pakistan’s diplomatic efforts to ease tensions between Iran and the United States. Munir Ahmed in Islamabad. Israel criticized at UN meeting for violence in West Bank. Five European Security Council nations convened a meeting Tuesday as Britain’s new U.N. ambassador, Sarah MacIntosh, condemned escalating violence in the West Bank and called for settler attacks on Palestinian villages, some alongside Israelis. soldiers, “terrible.” The Palestinian ambassador to the UN, Riyad Mansour, said that the Israeli annexation of Palestinian territory is already “underway, brutally and relentlessly.” He urged international action to chart a path toward self-determination and Palestinian “freedom.” Israeli ambassador to the UN, Danny Danon, responded by saying: “Israel condemns all violence against Israelis and Palestinians” and “does not tolerate extremism; we confront it.” Danon said “extremist attacks” by Israelis are decreasing and accused council members of ignoring “increasing” attacks by Palestinians. Former Syrian President Assad sentenced to death in absentia In Syria, a court sentenced former President Bashar Assad to death along with his younger brother for crimes against humanity and war crimes during the 14-year conflict in Syria that left nearly half a million dead. Assad and his brother Maher, who fled to Russia after insurgents entered Damascus in December 2024, were sentenced in absentia at the Fourth Criminal Court in the Syrian capital.___This story has been corrected to state that Bashar and Maher Assad fled to Russia in 2024, not 2014.
