In July, Saudi Arabia and the United States bombed Iran-backed militias in Iraq after blaming them for drone attacks on Saudi oil facilities that had been claimed by Yemen's Houthi rebels, another Iranian ally.
Now, regional officials tell The Associated Press that the Houthis helped the Iraqi militias plan and execute the two-day swarm attack, showing a new level of coordination.
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Yemen's Iran-backed Houthis reported more than 30 Saudi strikes on several regions on Wednesday, a day after the rebels launched major attacks on their neighbor, injuring dozens of people.
"Saudi enemy aircraft launched 32 airstrikes on various areas across the governorates of Marib, Al-Jawf, Taiz and Hodeida over the past few hours," the rebels' Almasirah television said.
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The U.S. military said it destroyed five Iranian oil tankers on Tuesday in response to the latest attacks on its warships and Tehran hit back at American targets in Jordan, the latest burst of back-and-forth strikes that have lurched the sides back toward open hostilities in a more than 6-month-old war.
Following the American strikes, Iran launched missiles toward U.S. targets in Jordan, Iranian state-run media said. Jordan's military said its air defense systems intercepted 18 ballistic missiles launched toward its territory and two others fell in places where no one lives. It said it has no reports of casualties. Jordan is a staunch U.S. ally that hosts American forces, making the kingdom's military bases a target of repeat Iranian strikes. U.S. Central Command said it had no information to offer.
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Twelve countries including Britain, Canada and France Tuesday said they would slap sanctions on trade with Israeli settlements in the West Bank, after increasing attacks by Israeli settlers against Palestinian villages in the occupied territory.
"Today, Canada, Denmark, Finland, France, Iceland, Ireland, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Spain, Sweden and the UK confirm their intention to introduce national and/or support European restrictions on trade in goods with settlements which are illegal under international law, or that they are actively considering these and other measures, in accordance with their national procedures," the nations' foreign ministers said in a joint statement.
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Iran's Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said Tuesday there had been "significant progress" in talks with Oman over the administration of the strategic Strait of Hormuz.
According to an Iranian foreign ministry statement, Araghchi "explained the latest status of Iran-Oman talks on the Strait of Hormuz, reporting significant progress" during a call with his Japanese counterpart.
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Israel's military activity in Syria including the detention of hundreds of people could constitute war crimes, United Nations investigators said Tuesday.
"The Commission is deeply alarmed about continued Israeli violations," said commissioner Fionnuala Ni Aolain of the Independent International Commission of Inquiry on the Syrian Arab Republic. "Such acts may amount to war crimes."
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Nicaragua told the United Nations' top court on Tuesday that Germany has breached the Genocide Convention by selling Israel weapons that were used in the country's war in Gaza.
Nicaragua argued that Germany is violating international law by "facilitating" acts of genocide in Gaza by providing arms and other military support to Israel, in proceedings at the International Court of Justice. Berlin denies the allegation.
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Britain is set to ban goods from Israeli settlements in the occupied West Bank in response to an expansion program that is imperiling efforts to establish a Palestinian state, the U.K. government said Tuesday.
Foreign Secretary Ed Miliband is due to give details in the House of Commons later, after saying last week that he would "reset" U.K. relations with Israel.
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Israel's President Isaac Herzog warned against British sanctions on settlements in the occupied West Bank expected to be announced on Tuesday, saying the decision would "fall on the wrong side of history".
"Later today, we expect to see headlines announcing certain British trade sanctions on Israeli settlements in Judea and Samaria," Herzog said, using the biblical term for the West Bank. "If this happens -- and other nations may join -- I believe it will prove to be a grave miscalculation, a decision that will fall on the wrong side of history."
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Israeli opposition leaders on Tuesday called Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu unfit to serve after a report that the United Arab Emirates had warned him before the October 7, 2023 Hamas attack.
Haaretz newspaper, in a report excerpted from a forthcoming book by its reporters, said UAE President Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan spoke to Netanyahu a week and a half before the attack and told him that Hamas was planning a major operation.
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