US-IRAN CONFLICT: WAR AND DIPLOMACY

The Saudi-led coalition fighting Yemen's Iran-aligned Houthis said ‌on Friday that it had intercepted and destroyed three ballistic missiles launched by the Houthis towards the southern Saudi city of Khamis Mushait.

The latest launches came a day after the coalition said it had intercepted two ballistic missiles targeting Khamis Mushait and Jazan and four drones targeting Khamis Mushait. Saudi authorities also said debris from one intercepted missile fell in residential areas of Khamis Mushait, damaging several buildings and vehicles but causing no casualties.

Saudi Arabia has led a military coalition supporting Yemen's internationally recognised government against the Houthis since 2015, after the Iran-aligned group seized the capital Sanaa and large parts of the country. Khamis Mushait, which hosts a major Saudi air base, has repeatedly been targeted by Houthi missiles and drones during the conflict.

British police have charged two Iranian nationals with allegedly preparing a terrorist attack targeting the Jewish community in northern England on the eve of Yom Kippur, the holiest day in the Jewish calendar.

Rahman Salehi, 35, and Salam Ahmadyan, 36, were charged with preparing to commit an act of terrorism or assisting another person to commit an act of terrorism, police said.

The alleged plot was uncovered on Friday, which marked the anniversary of a fatal attack on a Manchester synagogue last year.

Police said the two men had allegedly been in contact with an overseas third party who might be in Iran in connection with the plot.

Salehi and Ahmadyan are due to appear at Westminster Magistrates' Court in London on Saturday.

Vicki Evans of Counter Terrorism Policing said the two investigations were "not connected in any way", adding that counter-terrorism officers and national security partners were using their full capabilities to protect the UK from hostile acts.

Iraqi Foreign Minister Fuad Hussein has reaffirmed Baghdad’s commitment to ensuring that decisions on war and peace, as well as the possession of arms, remain exclusively under state control.

The Iraqi Embassy in Washington, DC said Hussein made the remarks during a meeting with US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent.

In a post on X, the embassy said Hussein also expressed Iraq’s “deep appreciation” for the United States and the International Coalition for their support and sacrifices in defeating the Islamic State (ISIL) group.

US Special Envoy for Peace and President Donald Trump’s son-in-law Jared Kushner has denied media reports alleging that he has investments in Israeli defence companies.

Kushner, in a post on X, said a story published by CNN was “deeply misleading”.

“Misleading stories will not distract me from the work President Trump asked me to do: help end wars, bring people together and pursue peace. That work is too important,” he added.

A tanker was struck by an unknown projectile while transiting outbound through the Strait of Hormuz, causing a small fire and a blackout onboard, the United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations agency said on Friday.

The fire was extinguished and no casualties or environmental damage were reported, UKMTO said.

The G7 group of nations will undertake a co-ordinated release of 100 million barrels of diesel and other reserves through the International Energy Agency (IEA) to try and stabilise world energy markets, according to a joint G7 leaders' statement on Friday.

"We will implement our commitments with a coordinated release through the IEA of 100 million barrels to begin immediately over 4 months, including a frontloaded substantial diesel release within the first 20 days by G7 members and partners," said the statement, released by the office of French President Emmanuel Macron.

DPM Dar further said that more than six countries have expressed interest in joining the Makkah Defence Pact, describing it as a defence-oriented agreement rather than an offensive alliance.

Dar said Pakistan and Saudi Arabia had signed a Strategic Mutual Defence Agreement, under which a meeting had already been held and its headquarters would be established in Saudi Arabia.

He said an emergency meeting under the Makkah pact would be held next week to review the latest situation in Saudi Arabia, where, he said, 17 to 18 attacks had taken place.

“We are bound to defend Saudi Arabia,” Dar said, adding that the current situation would be discussed at the emergency meeting.

He said the UN Charter also allowed such alliances to take action, citing NATO as an example of a similar arrangement. Dar added that no one among them would hesitate to sacrifice their lives for the protection of the two holy sites.

Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar said that there should not be any fee or charges to cross Hormuz.

Talking about Makkah accord, Dar said that there are more than six countries keen to join the Makkah Defence Alliance.

Italian Defence Minister Guido Crosetto said on Friday that contributions to an EU naval mission protecting Red Sea shipping remain insufficient, as Rome presses allies to do more to safeguard traffic through the Bab el-Mandeb Strait.

In a statement issued after meeting in Rome with EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas, Crosetto welcomed a decision by some member states to contribute additional assets to Aspides, without identifying the countries involved

Lebanese Prime Minister Nawaf Salam said Friday that rebuilding regions destroyed in the latest Israel-Hezbollah war was beyond the state's capacity, calling for funding as he visited the heavily damaged south.

"I am aware of the magnitude of the crisis" including the destruction, displacement and loss of livelihoods, Salam said in Nabatieh, a major southern city hit hard by Israeli airstrikes.

"But the scale of the needs exceeds the capacities of the Lebanese state and its ability to bear these burdens alone," Salam added. "We still need significant funding" for reconstruction, the prime minister said.