The Yemeni government warned against Houthi efforts to drag the country back into a full-scale war after the truce the country has seen since April last tear. Minister of Information Muammar Al-Eryani, said in a statement on X, "We warn against the dangerous and continuous escalation of the Iranian-backed [Houthis], during the past few days, in the provinces of Marib, Taiz, and Dhale, and its continuous mobilization of fighters, vehicles, and equipment of various types of weapons and ammunition to its positions in various fronts." The war in Yemen began in 2014, when the Houthis took over Sanaa and expanded their military presence in other provinces.
Yemen's Houthis shot down an American MQ-9 Reaper drone, a senior US defense official said Wednesday, confirming an earlier claim by the Iran-backed group. The Houthis said the MQ-9 was spying as part of US support for Israel in its war against Hamas. "A US military MQ-9 remotely-piloted aircraft was shot down off the coast of Yemen by Houthi forces," the official said. "Our air defenses were able to down an American MQ-9 while it was carrying out hostile surveillance and espionage activities in Yemeni territorial waters as part of American military support" for Israel, the Houthis said in a statement. The Houthis have targeted Israel on multiple occasions in recent weeks, and the US Navy intercepted several missiles fired by the Houthis last month.
Rashad Al-Alimi, the head of the Presidential Leadership Council, left Aden today, Thursday, heading to Riyadh "to participate in the proceedings of the emergency Arab summit scheduled to take place on Saturday in Riyadh."According to the state-run Saba News Agency, Al-Alimi will deliver "Yemen's speech to the Arab summit, confirming the steadfast position of Yemen alongside the struggling Palestinian people and their legitimate right to defend themselves and establish their independent state with full sovereignty." At least 10,812 Palestinians have been killed in Israeli attacks on Gaza since October 7. In Israel, the death toll over the same period stands at more than 1,400.
President Joe Biden has been briefed on what his advisers see as a Chinese plan to build a military facility in Oman, people familiar with the matter said, amid a broader effort by Beijing to deepen defense and diplomatic ties with the Middle East. Biden was told that Chinese military officials discussed the matter last month with Omani counterparts, who were said to be amenable to such a deal, said the people, who asked not to be identified discussing private deliberations. They said the two sides agreed to more talks in the coming weeks. Both Oman and China have not officially commented on this matter.
Iran on Thursday rejected a G7 statement that called on Tehran to stop supporting Hamas militants and taking actions that "destabilize" the Middle East. On Thursday, Iran's foreign ministry spokesman Nasser Kanani "strongly condemned" the statement by the group, which includes the United States, Britain, Germany, Canada, Italy, France, and Japan. He said Iran has engaged in "non-stop efforts to stop military attacks of the Zionist aggressor regime (Israel) on the defenseless citizens" in Gaza.
