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The US Treasury Department has announced new sanctions targeting 17 vessels accused of transporting Iranian crude oil, petroleum products and petrochemicals. The department said the measure was part of its efforts to tighten economic pressure on Tehran and target the maritime transport of its products.
Fighting in Yemen is concentrated on the Taiz and western coast fronts, where government forces are seeking to consolidate their positions and continue advancing towards Mocha and Bab al-Mandab. This coincides with clashes in Mawza, al-Wazi'iyah and Kahboub, and intensified Houthi attacks around Taiz amid air strikes and counter-movements.
Southern Transitional Council President Aidrous al-Zubaidi said southern forces had regained control of Al-Mudharabah, Bab al-Mandab and Mayyun Island, describing the three locations as part of the southern border and stressing that the people of the south would not accept what he called the theft of the victories achieved by their armed forces.
Saudi Ministry of Defence spokesman Major General Turki Al-Maliki announced on Friday that three Houthi missile launchers had been destroyed in Yemen. The coalition said the Houthis had been using the launchers to threaten regional security.
Sources in Sanaa reported air strikes on Mount Attan, saying they targeted missile storage facilities and launch platforms. Information about the strikes and the nature of the sites targeted remains attributed to those sources.
Local sources reported air strikes in the Yemeni capital, Sanaa, on 9 October 2026, alongside heavy aircraft activity over the city. The published information about the development is based on local accounts that were not independently corroborated in the material.
An unidentified military source has accused the Houthi group of heavily laying mines in the Bab al-Mandab area, without providing published field evidence. The claim comes amid successive military developments around the strait, and after Yemen’s government forces announced control of the area on 5 October 2026, following an earlier incident in which they said they had disabled a naval mine in the passage.
Iran has stepped up attacks in the Strait of Hormuz in an effort to pressure Washington, as the US Department of Defence prepares plans to strike Tehran. The developments come as fighting expands in Yemen and US President Donald Trump remains undecided about resuming the war.
According to assessments and analyses, Israel is considering carrying out a strike against Iran without direct US participation before the election scheduled for 27 October. The possibility is linked to Benjamin Netanyahu’s electoral calculations, fears that Iran could rebuild its capabilities, and the belief that mounting pressure could prompt Tehran to take military action.
The Palestinian vice-president announced the postponement of the legislative elections, saying that deteriorating conditions made it impossible to hold them. In a later development, a Palestinian source said President Mahmoud Abbas would issue a decree postponing the elections, without announcing an alternative date for the vote.
Tensions between Ethiopia and Eritrea escalated after Addis Ababa said Eritrean forces had advanced 60 kilometres into the Tigray region and accused Eritrea before the United Nations of violating its sovereignty. Asmara responded by accusing the Ethiopian government of seeking a war that would give it access to the Red Sea, amid reports of drone strikes.
Turki al-Maliki, spokesman for the Coalition to Support Legitimacy in Yemen, said Houthi attacks on civilians and civilian sites would face a firm response, announcing the destruction of three missile launchers. The statement came after two attacks on King Khalid International Airport which, according to the Saudi General Authority of Civil Aviation, killed three Saudis and injured citizens and residents.
Local sources in Sana'a reported new air strikes on military sites on Friday afternoon, following a wave of overnight bombardment that, according to local and security accounts, included the military academy, sites inside Sana'a airport and the Al-Nahdin camp. The strikes came amid an ongoing escalation between government forces and the Houthis as part of Operation “Dawn of Yemen”.
Yemeni military sources said government forces took control on Friday of the Bab al-Mandab Strait and Mayyun Island with Saudi air support, after the Southern Giants Brigades fought Houthi fighters. Reports of ground advances and explosions in the coastal area preceded the announcement, alongside air cover provided by the coalition.
Ukrainian authorities said at least 34 people were killed on Thursday in Russian strikes across different parts of the country, including an attack on a bus in Kramatorsk and drone raids on Kyiv. A separate death toll put the number killed in a strike targeting two buses in eastern Ukraine at at least 30.
French Armed Forces Chief of Staff Fabien Mandon said Paris and Riyadh were considering options to help protect the Yanbu oil port, which could include using French military assets. During a parliamentary hearing, he said the port had come under attack, noting that France had deployed about 2,000 troops in the region.
US President Donald Trump said the United States was holding talks with Iran that he described as “fruitful”. He ruled out launching a US military attack on Iran before the congressional midterm elections, scheduled for 3 November.
The New York Times reported, citing US officials, that the US military is preparing options to resume large-scale military operations against Iran, while President Donald Trump has not decided whether to return to war, according to a report published on Friday.
Pakistan confirmed on Friday that it has forces in Saudi Arabia, stressing that their mission is exclusively defensive, amid an escalating conflict with Iran-backed Houthi forces. The announcement coincided with a European agency expanding an aviation warning related to Saudi airspace because of Houthi attacks.
Addis Ababa has called on the Security Council to act to withdraw Eritrean forces it says crossed the border into northern Ethiopia, describing this as an invasion and a violation of its sovereignty. It has hinted at self-defence, while Asmara has denied that its forces are in Adigrat and accused Ethiopia of trying to justify launching a war against it.
Authorities in Wad al-Mahi locality in Sudan’s Blue Nile region announced that 30 displaced people, including 26 women and four children, were killed and dozens more injured in a strike targeting a shelter centre for displaced people. The local governor said the attack was carried out by a drone operated by the Rapid Support Forces.
Saudi Arabia’s Defence Ministry said it had intercepted and destroyed two ballistic missiles launched by the Houthis towards Riyadh, while the Civil Defence said debris from the interception caused property damage to a kindergarten and a clinic complex. Reports said Saudi Arabia subsequently bombed threat sites in Sanaa.
Three people were killed in attacks targeting two airports in Saudi Arabia, as fighting escalated in Yemen and tensions with the Houthis intensified. The attacks targeted two aviation facilities in the kingdom, with three confirmed fatalities.
Clashes as part of the ‘Yemen Dawn’ operation continued for a fifth day, alongside intensive air strikes, fighting in Taiz and Marib, and Houthi attacks towards Saudi Arabia, while Yemen’s government forces announced that they had carried out 1729 military operations.
An unidentified military source has accused the Houthi group of heavily laying mines in the Bab al-Mandab area, without providing published field evidence. The claim comes amid successive military developments around the strait, and after Yemen’s government forces announced control of the area on 5 October 2026, following an earlier incident in which they said they had disabled a naval mine in the passage.