Days of Iran naval threats to shipping are over, CENTCOM says

Yemen’s internationally recognized government rejected on Saturday Iran’s policies of turning the country’s territory into platforms for blackmail and threats to peace.

The government also condemned Iran’s repeated attempts to drag Yemen into its wars through allied forces.

The remarks came after Iran-aligned Houthis said they had joined the Iran war by launching a barrage of missiles at Israel.

Iran’s IRGC-affiliated Tasnim news agency said on Saturday that some institutions in the Islamic Republic, including parliament, were urgently reviewing a potential withdrawal from the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT).

According to the report, a consensus was forming that there was no justification for Iran to remain in the treaty.

Iran remains a signatory to the NPT, which aims to prevent the spread of nuclear weapons while allowing peaceful nuclear activity.

Saudi Arabia’s East-West pipeline, which bypasses the Strait of Hormuz, is pumping oil at its full capacity of seven million barrels a day, Bloomberg reported, citing a person familiar with the matter.

Of that volume, about two million barrels per day are directed to domestic refineries, while the remainder is available for export.

The report said Riyadh had activated the contingency plan to boost crude shipments to the Red Sea as the closure of the strait disrupted Persian Gulf producers’ main export route.

According to Bloomberg, tankers have been redirected to the Red Sea port of Yanbu to load oil.

The United Arab Emirates said on Saturday its air defense systems were actively engaging missile and drone threats coming from Iran.

The defense ministry said sounds heard in different parts of the country were the result of ongoing operations by UAE air defenses against ballistic missiles, cruise missiles, and drones.

Figures released by the UAE Ministry of Defense showed its air defenses had intercepted 20 ballistic missiles and 37 drones in the latest wave of attacks, while cumulative totals since the start of hostilities reached 398 ballistic missiles, 15 cruise missiles, and 1,872 drones.

Blasts and air activity were heard in several Iranian provinces on Saturday, according to eyewitness accounts sent to Iran International.

A heavy explosion was reported at 1:15 p.m. in the Tehranpars area in eastern Tehran, with the blast shaking windows and glass.

Fighter jet sounds were heard at 1:00 p.m. in Chaboksar, in Gilan province in the north.

In Bushehr, in southern Iran, an area near the sixth tactical air base was targeted in an airstrike at about 2:00 p.m.

Bam, in Kerman province in southeastern Iran, was also reported to have been targeted at 11:00 a.m., with air defense activity heard again at around 1:00 p.m.