US-IRAN CONFLICT: WAR AND DIPLOMACY

Yemen's defence minister has apologised and ordered an investigation after his ministry warned that tribal gatherings in Houthi-controlled areas would be considered "legitimate military targets", describing the statement as "wrong and unacceptable".

In a post on X, the minister said he had ordered an immediate investigation into the warning issued on October 22.

The ministry had earlier warned civilians against attending gatherings organised by the Houthis under the pretext of tribal mobilisation or recruitment, accusing the group of using such events to recruit children and young people.

The minister rejected the warning, stressing that Yemen's armed forces would not target tribal gatherings or other civilian assemblies.

He also reaffirmed the military's commitment to international humanitarian law and described Yemen's tribes as a key pillar in efforts to restore state authority.

The minister accused the Houthis of exploiting the ministry's mistake to create divisions between Yemeni tribes and the armed forces.

Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi has accused French President Emmanuel Macron of contradicting his earlier position on Tehran's nuclear programme after the French leader said Paris had always opposed any form of nuclear activity in Iran.

In a post on X, Araghchi recalled Macron's remarks to the US Congress in 2018, shortly before Washington withdrew from the Iran nuclear deal.

"Just before POTUS exited the Iran Nuclear Deal in 2018, Mr Macron insisted before the US Congress that 'France won't leave the JCPOA, because we signed it'," Araghchi wrote.

"Today, he claims he always opposed 'any form of nuclear activity' in Iran. Get your story straight, Mr President," he added.

Macron said on Wednesday that France had always been "resolutely opposed to any form of nuclear activity in Iran".

However, France was among the signatories to the 2015 nuclear agreement, formally known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), which permitted Iran to enrich uranium to a maximum level of 3.67%.

US Central Command (CENTCOM) has said its naval blockade of Iran has halted all seaborne imports and exports for 100 days, except for humanitarian aid authorised by American forces.

In a post on X, CENTCOM said Thursday marked 100 days since US forces resumed what it described as America's "steel wall" naval blockade against Iran.

The military command claimed the blockade had prevented Tehran from exporting at least $25 billion worth of crude oil, restricting the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps' (IRGC) ability to finance armed groups and other activities.

"There have been no exports or imports to Iran by sea except for the humanitarian aid US forces have allowed," CENTCOM said.

Iranian army spokesman Mohammad Akraminia has accused US Secretary of State Marco Rubio of hypocrisy over his criticism of Tehran's alleged attacks on commercial shipping in the Strait of Hormuz.

In a post on X, Akraminia accused the US of killing civilians, including children and athletes, as well as 104 sailors, during military operations despite ongoing diplomatic negotiations.

"We are also faced with a country that, in the midst of negotiations, with utmost savagery, in a single moment, murdered 168 children and a number of athletes with forbidden bombs, and 104 sailors in a foreign land, and a wedding in the very country they were facing," he said.

"Have you ever seen such criminals from ancient times until now?" he added.

His remarks came in response to Rubio's accusations that Iran had been targeting commercial vessels in the Strait of Hormuz.

At least 168 people, most of them children, were killed when a school in Minab, southern Iran, was bombed on the first day of the war.

Evidence strongly points to US responsibility for the strike, with Amnesty International blaming Washington for the attack.

The US Department of Defense has said it is investigating the incident but has not released further details.

The Saudi-led coalition reported that it successfully neutralised a ballistic missile launched by Houthi forces toward Saudi Arabia’s Najran region.

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio expressed appreciation for Qatar's continued efforts to mediate the conflict in the Middle East in a call with Qatari Prime Minister Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani, the State Department said on Thursday.

Rubio also reaffirmed the United States' commitment to Qatar’s security and freedom of navigation through the Strait of Hormuz, the department said in a statement.

US President Donald Trump said on Thursday that Iran was doing all it could to drive up the price of oil before the US midterm elections.

"They are even making up fake hits, mines, and everything else," he said in a Truth Social post.

Iran's security chief, Mohsen Rezaei, has warned that the economic infrastructure of its adversaries would not remain safe if Iranian assets were targeted.

Rezaei said Iran had the resources to launch retaliatory strikes if the conflict with the United States continued.

He also said the reopening of the Strait of Hormuz was conditional on proposals Iran had already presented to the United States.

Saudi Arabia on Thursday said it downed drones in the areas of Riyadh and the holy city of Madina, as Yemen's Houthis carry out daily attacks on the kingdom.

"Interception and destruction of four drones in the regions of Riyadh and Madina," said Turki Al-Malki in a post on X, the spokesman for the Saudi-led coalition fighting the Iran-backed group.