Iranian plane lands in Yemen despite strikes on Sana’a airport; Trump says US will control Strait of Hormuz and 'will be paid for it' | LIVE

Yemen: U.N. calls on parties to 'de-escalate'

Yemen: U.N. calls on the parties to "de-escalate" following the attack on Sana’a airport.

Strait of Hormuz: Iran declares it will not 'allow the US to intervene in the management of the strait' and threatens countries in the region

Iran’s Joint Chiefs of Staff have stated that Tehran will not “allow the United States to interfere in the management of the Strait of Hormuz,” shortly after U.S. President Donald Trump declared that Washington would control the strait. “Any attempt by the United States to pass through the strait without Iran’s authorization will be met with a firm response,” it said.

“To the leaders of countries in the region: any cooperation with the United States will be regarded as an act of war against Iran,” Iran’s Joint Chiefs of Staff concluded, following several days of retaliatory strikes by the Islamic Republic of Iran in response to U.S. air strikes, with missiles fired at Gulf states and Jordan, both allies of Washington.

Trump: 'Iranians are always breaking [the agreements], so we’re simply going to hit them very hard'

U.S. President Donald Trump has once again adopted a threatening tone towards Iran, stating that the U.S. military would “hit the country very hard.”

“We had a deal. It was a done deal, and then they broke it. They always break them. We’ve made ten deals with these people, so we’re simply going to hit them very hard,” said the U.S. President during a telephone interview with the program “Fox & Friends” on Fox News.

The U.S. military said it had carried out two series of strikes on “dozens of targets” in Iran on Sunday evening and Monday morning, for the second consecutive day, stating that it was ready to “ensure that freedom of navigation remains guaranteed” in the Strait of Hormuz.

Iranian plane lands in Yemen

An Iranian plane has landed in Yemen, the Houthi transport minister has told the rebel-run al-Massirah TV channel, after the government said it had carried out air strikes against Sana’a airport to prevent it from landing, reports AFP.

He said that “the Iranian plane landed on Yemeni soil carrying a number of sick and stranded people, accompanied by the official delegation from the Republic of Yemen,” without specifying the landing site.

Trump claims US will control Strait of Hormuz and be paid for doing so

U.S. President Donald Trump has stated that the United States would "probably" take control of the Strait of Hormuz and should be "paid" to manage this strategic waterway.

“We’re going to keep the strait and we’re probably going to manage it. We’ll become the guardian of the strait. Perhaps we’ll call it the guardian angel of the strait. And we should be paid for it,” he said during a telephone interview with the program “Fox & Friends” on Fox News, according to Reuters.

Houthis hold Red Cross aircraft at Sana’a airport, according to Yemeni government

The Yemeni Minister of Information has stated that pro-Iranian Houthi rebels are holding a plane belonging to the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC), along with its pilot and co-pilot, at Sana’a airport, according to Al Jazeera.

Houthis say they will respond to strikes on Sana’a airport

The military spokesperson for Yemen’s Houthi rebels has accused Saudi Arabia of being behind the bombings that targeted Sana’a International Airport on Monday afternoon, stating that the kingdom would face the consequences.

“This aggression will not go unanswered or unpunished,” said the Houthi military spokesman, Yahya Saree, on his Telegram channel, describing the attack as “the end of the de-escalation phase” in the conflict between the rebel group and Riyadh.

Yemen's government claims it targeted Sana’a airport to prevent Iranian aircraft from landing

The Yemeni government claims it targeted Sana’a airport to prevent an Iranian aircraft from landing, according to AFP.

Houthis vow to retaliate against strikes on Sana’a airport

The Houthis have said they will retaliate against strikes on Yemen's Sana’a airport.

Yemen: Houthis accuse Saudi Arabia of bombing Sana’a airport

The Houthi-controlled Al-Massirah TV channel reported several air strikes on Sana’a airport in Yemen, accusing Saudi Arabia of being behind them.

According to local media, these air strikes were carried out with the aim of preventing an Iranian Mahan Air aircraft carrying a Houthi delegation returning from Tehran from landing. Meanwhile, the Yemeni Defense Ministry ordered the evacuation of the airport in the Yemeni capital, without naming the perpetrator of these attacks or reporting any casualties.

Iran fires warning shots at two vessels in the Strait of Hormuz

State television reported that Iran had fired “warning shots” at two vessels attempting to pass through the Strait of Hormuz.

Two more killed in US strike in western Iran

At least two people have been killed in the latest wave of U.S. air strikes against Iran. These casualties were reported in the city of Abadan, in south-western Iran, on the border with Iraq, according to the state-run Mehr news agency.

This brings to four the number of people killed in Iran since the start of the day as a result of U.S. strikes, according to Iranian media.

Bahrain says its air defenses intercepted, destroyed several Iranian aerial attacks

Bahrain says its air defenses intercepted and destroyed several Iranian aerial attacks on Monday morning, according to Reuters.

Bahrain’s armed forces have accused Iran of targeting civilians as part of a “systematic hostile stance," after Tehran claimed to have carried out strikes against U.S. facilities in the Gulf state.

“Iran is continuing its systematic hostile behavior through its criminal missile and drone attacks targeting civilians in the kingdom,” the army said in a statement, adding that it had “intercepted and destroyed several air attacks” on Monday morning.

More explosions heard in Iran

Explosions have been heard in the cities of Bandar Abbas and on the island of Qeshm, near the Strait of Hormuz, according to the Mehr news agency, in what could be a new wave of U.S. strikes.

"Media outlets and local residents reported hearing explosions on Monday at midday near Bandar Abbas and Qeshm Island," in the south of the country, the Mehr news agency reported. "These explosions, which occurred some distance from the city, appear to have originated on the west coast of Bandar Abbas," it added, noting that "clashes are also possible in the Gulf" between Tehran and Washington.

A second death in overnight US strikes in Iran, according to an official news agency

A second person has been reported killed by the wave of overnight U.S. air strikes against Iran, according to the ISNA news agency.

The strike targeted a military base in the town of Nain, in the central province of Isfahan, and resulted in the injury of seven people.

Iranian media had previously reported one person killed and four others injured in a U.S. strike on an agricultural water pumping station in Mahshahr, in the south of the country.

Iran says continuing talks with mediators to 'prevent escalation’

Iran said Monday it was continuing talks with mediators from Qatar, Pakistan, and Oman in an effort to prevent any further escalation in its war with the United States, reported AFP.

"The role of the mediators is to continue their efforts to prevent an escalation of tensions," said Iranian foreign ministry spokesman Esmail Baghaei.

Iran will cease to comply with MoU if US fails to honor its commitments

The spokesperson for the Iranian Foreign Ministry, Esmail Baghaei, has stated that Iran will not honor its commitments under the memorandum of understanding concluded with the United States “until the other party honors its own,” reports Reuters.

He also stated that Tehran is seeking to establish a joint mechanism with Oman regarding the management of the Strait of Hormuz, but that pressure exerted by the United States on Muscat “has hampered these efforts."

Barrot and Guterres call on Iran and the United States to exercise restraint and return to the negotiating table

When asked about the recent resurgence of tensions between Iran and the United States, the French Foreign Minister, Jean-Noel Barrot, refused to say that war had resumed in the Gulf, whilst calling on the various parties to return to the negotiating table.

“The fact is that an agreement has been reached which provides for very simple measures, namely the cessation of hostilities, the reopening of the Strait of Hormuz and the start of negotiations to strictly regulate Iran’s nuclear program,” he said in an interview on BFM TV/RMC. He once again called on all parties to return “to the negotiating framework set out in this agreement because ... they have no interest in escalation.”

Furthermore, Antonio Guterres, the U.N. Secretary-General, urged Washington and Tehran to exercise “the utmost restraint” and to “resume negotiations as a matter of urgency,” reports AFP.

Heaviest exchange of fire between Iran and US since April 8

The twin wave of air strikes carried out last night by the United States against Iran, followed by several waves of strikes claimed by the Revolutionary Guards against Jordan, Kuwait, Oman, and Bahrain, constituted the most intense exchanges of fire on both sides since the cease-fire of April 8.

Since Iranian fire resumed last Tuesday against ships attempting to pass through the Strait of Hormuz, clashes have reignited with an intensity not seen for weeks, resulting in five exchanges of fire within the space of six days.

The United States accuses Iran in particular of hitting the GFS Galaxy, a Cypriot-flagged container ship, in the strait over the weekend. 23 crew members were rescued and another is missing, the Sultanate of Oman announced on Sunday, adding that the search is continuing.

Iranian diplomats have “strongly condemned” the latest U.S air strikes and criticized Washington for having “undone all the efforts of recent months” aimed at ending the war triggered by the Israeli-U.S. attack on Iran on Feb. 28.

US air strikes on Iran kill at least 1 person and injure 4 others

According to Iranian state media, the latest wave of air strikes carried out by the U.S. military against large areas of western and southern Iran has killed at least one person and injured four in Mahshahr (south-west), according to a local official quoted by the official IRNA news agency.

Late on Sunday, the agency had already reported one death and two injuries on Farur Island in the Persian Gulf.

Two Iranian soldiers were also killed over the weekend in strikes on Bushehr and the port of Jask, both in southern Iran.

According to Iranian news agencies, large areas of southern and western Iran were hit last night, notably the island of Qeshm and Bandar Abbas, near the Strait of Hormuz, as well as the province of Khuzestan, which borders Iraq.

Air-raid sirens sound for the third time in Bahrain; US drone shot down in southern Iran

Bahrain’s Interior Ministry has announced that it has once again activated its air-raid warning systems due to a suspected new intrusion into its airspace, as it had already done overnight following the Iranian attacks on the country.

“Citizens and residents are asked to remain calm, seek shelter in a safe place and follow updates from official channels,” the ministry stated.

Meanwhile, a U.S. suicide drone was “precisely targeted and shot down” over Bandar Abbas, in southern Iran, according to the official Tasnim news agency.

South Lebanon: Israel blows up buildings in districts of Marjayoun and Bint Jbeil

In southern Lebanon, the night was marked by several bombings of buildings carried out by the Israeli army in the districts of Bint Jbeil and Marjayoun. Explosions were heard in the town of Bint Jbeil and in Haddatha, where houses were also set alight. Between Deir Siryan and Qantara, a large-scale explosion took place.

Tensions around the Strait of Hormuz: Oil prices rise

The Islamic Republic’s announcement at the weekend of a further closure of this strategic waterway for global oil trade has sent oil prices soaring once again. The price of a barrel of North Sea Brent crude for September delivery, the international benchmark, jumped by more than 4% to $79.13 shortly after 4:30 GMT (7:30 a.m. in Lebanon).

Tehran attacks Bahrain, Kuwait, Jordan in retaliation to US bombings

Iran has claimed attacks on U.S. military sites in Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, and Jordan in retaliation for Washington’s renewed bombardment of its southern coast. The Iranian Tasnim news agency has reported Iran shot down a U.S.-manufactured “Lucas” suicide drone in Bandar Abbas.

The exchange of fire comes a day after the U.S. military said it hit at least 140 targets in Iran overnight Saturday to Sunday, continuing a week-long return to fighting sparked by Iranian strikes on ships bypassing its rules for transiting through the Strait of Hormuz.

A military adviser to Iran’s supreme leader, quoted by Iranian state-media yesterday, described the waterway as “more important than dozens of nuclear bombs.” The night before, Iran declared the strait once again shut and has since fired on a Cyprus-flagged ship attempting to cross it as well as on Jordan, the UAE, Qatar, Kuwait, and Bahrain.

“In addition to targeting U.S. military installations and infrastructure in Juffair, Bahrain, where fires are raging, the Revolutionary Guards’ navy targeted and destroyed” radar systems, including a ship-detection radar in Oman, according to a statement published on Sepah News. At least one person has been injured in Kuwait, where “three border posts” and an “offshore drilling platform belonging to the Kuwait Oil Company” were targeted, according to the emirate’s authorities.

Hello and welcome to our live news blog

Hello and welcome to our live coverage of events in the Middle East, where the last few days have been marked by a resurgence of tensions between the United States and Iran, which engaged in a fifth round of overnight strikes against each other overnight — the fifth such exchange in the space of a week.

We will also be monitoring the situation in southern Lebanon, where Israel continues to occupy several hundred square kilometers along the border and to carry out air strikes and demolitions.

You can find our live coverage of yesterday’s events here and our Morning Brief here.