Two waves of Israeli drone attacks struck Mayfadoun in southern Lebanon, according to Lebanon’s National News Agency (NNA). NNA reported no casualties from the strikes. It also reported intermittent artillery shelling on the outskirts of Nabatieh al-Fawqa, also in southern Lebanon.

Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan said Iran is not the target of the defence pact signed by Saudi Arabia, Turkiye and Pakistan. Fidan said no country would be considered a target as long as it does not attack any of the pact’s members, according to Reuters.

Iranian army spokesman Amir Akraminia said Iran’s new order in the Strait of Hormuz is “irreversible” despite opposition from the United States. He said the US “has no choice but to accept the existing situation” and warned that rejecting it could lead to costs far greater than those faced by Washington in the past.

Yemen’s Armed Forces announced a wide-ranging military operation targeting Houthi positions along multiple frontlines. A spokesperson said the forces targeted the “capabilities and forces” of the Houthi militia along multiple axes and the line of contact with government forces. The operation aims to “protect unarmed civilians” from attacks, the spokesperson said.

Oman has condemned the “repeated attacks” on ships transiting the Strait of Hormuz, calling them a violation of international law and territorial sovereignty. Oman’s Foreign Ministry said talks on navigation arrangements in the strait are progressing positively and urged all sides to avoid actions that could disrupt the negotiations.

Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said Iran and Oman are “very close” to agreeing on a new Strait of Hormuz protocol. He said reopening the waterway would also require the US to compensate Iran over alleged violations of the Islamabad MoU.

A vessel was struck by an unknown projectile about 18 nautical miles (33 km) off the coast of Khasab, Oman, the UK Maritime Trade Operations (UKMTO) said. According to a verified source cited by UKMTO, the impact caused a fire onboard the vessel. The fire has since been extinguished. The vessel and all members of its crew have been reported safe, UKMTO added.

Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said negotiations with Oman over the legal framework and management of the Strait of Hormuz are nearing an agreement. He said the talks include determining transit routes through the strategic waterway. However, reopening the Strait will depend on additional conditions, including the US addressing what Iran calls violations of the Islamabad Memorandum of Understanding.

Calling for increased cooperation between countries of the Gulf to ensure security for each other, Ali Akbar Velayati, a key advisor to Iran’s Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khameini said that the foreign forces present in West Asia are the “main factor of insecurity” and they “must leave the region”.

He said this on X.

A report by Iran International states that a pro-establishment singer was killed after being abducted for several days, according to IRGC. Hamidreza Rajabzadeh’s dead body was recorded and the video was sent to his family. Investigators are trying to find out who did this.

Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) has said that the people in Isfahan could hear some controlled explosions, Iran International posted on X. Just days ago, IRGC had said this would happen near Tehran and it was later learnt that they were disposing off unused explosives. This recent exercise in Isfahan could be a similar thing.

Israeli armed forces have been hitting Al-Taher town in southern Lebanon, the Arab country’s National News Agency reported.

The Yemeni government, which is recognised and supported by Western countries, welcomed the UN statement which criticised landings of Iranian planes in Sa’ana, capital of Yemen.

Although this faction styles itself as the “official” Yemeni government, and is considered as such by only the West, it doesn’t control either the capital city or the regions in the north and west where most of the people of this country live.

Yemen’s Iran-backed Houthis fired ballistic missiles and drones at displacement camps and residential areas in Marib on Friday, killing two people and injuring 14, state news agency SABA reported citing local authorities.

Yemen’s army said early Saturday it had launched counter-operations against Houthi positions on multiple fronts and warned of further military action if attacks continue.

Israel on Saturday launched a massive artillery strike on a south Lebanese town and caused extensive damage to the homes there, reported Al Jazeera.

Yemen’s government, recognised by several countries, and backed by the West, has said that the country might be on the brink of the reignition of a major war after decades of, not peace, but an equilibrium.

Yemen is a seriously divided nation. Different factions, all controlled by different regional powers like Saudi Arabia, Iran, and United Arab Emirates, control different regions of the country.

Till now, all sides had managed to avoid major conflict, while engaging in minor skirmishes every now and then, but with the war in Iran raging and escalating ever more menacingly, that fragile equilibrium now seems all but smashed. The Houthis, backed by Iran, control the most important region and de facto most of the citizens.

US Senator Hickenlooper has introduced a resolution to end the Iran war in West Asia, “We just introduced a resolution to put a stop to President Trump’s illegal war with Iran.”

He posted on X.

Yemeni army has said that it has carried out military actions against the Houthi rebels who are, in essence, in control of the country. A spokesperson for the Yemeni military, as reported by Al Jazeera, said that they targeted the forces and equipment of the Houthis at multiple locations along the contact lines formed during their decades-long civil war.

Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) has issued a statement in which they praised the “revolutionary” media for carrying truth and also said that western media is already conceding defeat.

“World media, acknowledging Washington’s failure to defeat the Islamic Republic, are clearly speaking of Trump’s ‘defeat’ and ‘self-created trap’ in the war against Iran, and are even admitting that the agreements reached were nothing more than an ‘American surrender document’ in the face of the realities on the ground and Iran’s negotiating power,” said the IRGC’s statement, posted on X by Iran International.

Iran is looking to get a restriction imposed on the US Navy’s movement in the Strait of Hormuz in the final print of the peace deal that is currently being negotiated, reported Wall Street Journal.

Meanwhile, the US has apparently made it clear that it will not accept any levies on ships passing through the Strait.

The Yemeni rebel group, Houthis, has reignited the fighting that had engulfed the countries decades ago. They have launched 12 missile strikes targeting the Hadramout and the province of Marib, which are the strong holds of the western backed Yemeni government.

The Houthis control the northern and western parts of Yemen, which is the most populous region and has the country’s capital, Sa’ana. The Yemeni government, recognised by the more countries and supported by the West, is in control of the country’s east. In southwest region, rebel factions supported by the UAE were in control but then fighting between them and the Yemeni government decisively went against them.

The critical chokepoint of the Strait of Hormuz, currently blockaded by Iran, has seen the vessel traffic passing through it drop more and more every passing day. This has come even as Oman and Iran have said they are now close to signing a deal to open the crucial waterway.

Data from the trade-monitoring firm Kpler shows that only eight commercial vessels crossed Hormuz on Thursday. On Tuesday that number was 15 and last Thursday, that number had stood at 12. Before the war had erupted in West Asia, hundreds of ships used to travel daily through this area.

Houthi attacks on a strategic Yemeni province killed at least 10 people Friday, according to a minister and military source, as the rebels escalated strikes on the oil-rich region.

A Yemeni military source told AFP that the latest Houthi attacks in Marib killed eight members of government forces and wounded 12 others. The health minister for the Saudi-backed government said the rebels shelled residential areas and displacement camps in Marib city, killing at least two civilians and wounding 14.

Since taking over as Iran’s Supreme Leader after his father was killed in US-Israeli strikes in late February, Mojtaba Khamenei’s health has remained under intense scrutiny, with questions repeatedly raised over his condition and even his whereabouts. Iran has denied reports questioning his status, but fresh claims have emerged, with Israeli media reporting that he is in critical condition and has been hospitalised.

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The US expects Iran and Oman to reach a deal soon to restore normal commercial shipping through the Strait of Hormuz, a US official told Reuters, saying Washington would then lift its blockade of Iranian ports.

“There is progress between Oman and Iran on the strait, and we expect a deal soon,” a U.S. official told Reuters on Friday. “Once the deal is announced to restore commercial shipping without impediments, the United States will lift the blockade of Iranian ports.”

“As always, U.S. actions will continue to be performance-based and tied to Iran’s implementation of its commitments,” the official said.

Iran and Oman have reached an agreement on a framework for the Strait of Hormuz, with an Iranian official saying the proposal has been finalised at the official level and is now awaiting approval from higher authorities in both countries. Iranian state media reported that a joint announcement could be made once the remaining approvals are secured.

FULL REPORT HERE