Iran's foreign minister details new offer to reopen strait, and other Mideast developments
Word of an offer from Iran to reopen the Strait of Hormuz and resume talks on its nuclear program is emerging from the sidelines of the U.N. General Assembly. Meanwhile, Saudi Arabia’s top cleric issued a rare statement, calling on the kingdom’s troops to defend the country from neighboring Yemen’s Iran-backed Houthi rebels.
In New York, where the wars in Iran and Gaza have dominated the U.N. agenda, the leaders of Iraq, Lebanon and Egypt were scheduled to address world leaders later Friday.
Here is a look at the latest news from the Middle East. More coverage of the U.N. General Assembly is available here.
Iran would reopen the Strait of Hormuz and resume talks on its nuclear program in seven days if the U.S. lifts its naval blockade, waives oil sanctions and observes a ceasefire that includes Lebanon, under a proposal discussed by the Iranian foreign minister at a private gathering on the sidelines of the U.N. General Assembly.
Trita Parsi, executive vice president of the Quincy Institute think tank, who attended the event, said Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi detailed the plan to those gathered Thursday. Iranian officials haven't commented.
The proposal resembles an agreement reached in June that later collapsed.
U.S. President Donald Trump has said he’s in no rush to reach a deal, though the White House said Friday that U.S. officials are having positive and constructive conversations with mediators. Still, on the Iranian side, some question whether hard-liners who dominate the security forces will accept compromises championed by relative moderates like President Masoud Pezeshkian.
With Saudi oil facilities, cities and ships off its coast coming under escalating attacks, the kingdom's top religious authority has called on soldiers to be prepared to defend the country from Iran-backed Houthis.
Grand Mufti Sheikh Saleh al-Fawzan, who traditionally avoids weighing in on politics in a country that holds enormous influence among Muslims worldwide, issued the strongly worded statement. Al-Fawzan addressed his message to soldiers defending the kingdom's borders and members of the Saudi-led coalition fighting the Houthis in Yemen, peppering it with Quranic verses and religious edicts.
“Protecting this great nation, guarding its borders, defending against aggression and punishing those who want to harm any inch of it is one of the greatest duties,” he said.
The head of Yemen's internationally recognized government, Rashad al-Alimi, likewise urged Yemenis to rally behind Saudi-backed armed forces and allied groups in their fight with the Houthis.
Al-Alimi, who chairs the country’s Presidential Leadership Council, also called on Yemenis fighting alongside the Houthis to defect, announcing a general amnesty.
Al-Alimi said the aim of the fighting is to restore his government’s control over Sanaa, the capital, which the Houthis seized in 2014.
His call to arms came during his first speech since his Saudi-backed forces were routed from the western Red Sea coast by the Houthis’ lightning advance on the city of Mokha and islands in the Bab el-Mandeb Strait, where 12% of the world's trade passes.
The swift Houthi advances raised questions about the effectiveness of the Saudi-backed forces in the face of the disciplined, well-armed Houthis. The Houthi assault exploited divisions among the Saudi-backed forces and distrust among its leaders, leading to a chaotic troop withdrawal before the fall of Mokha.
Al-Alimi’s speech came on the 64th anniversary of the military coup that ousted the monarchy ruling northern Yemen, rooted in the Zaydi Shiite sect to which the Houthis also belong. The Houthis battled Yemen’s central government for years before sweeping down from their northern stronghold and seizing Sanaa.
In a statement approved by its 15 members, the U.N.’s most powerful body condemned Houthi attacks on Saudi Arabia and against commercial shipping in the Red Sea and the Bab el-Mandeb Strait.
The council called for “practical cooperation,” including with Yemen’s internationally recognized government, to prevent the Houthis from obtaining weapons, military material and training enabling them to carry out attacks.
It reminded all countries of their obligation to implement the U.N. arms embargo against the Houthis.
Israel’s military said two of its soldiers were killed in northern Gaza on Thursday while inspecting an unexploded Israeli drone near a military post. They were the first Israeli soldiers killed in Gaza in months.
Five other Israeli soldiers have been killed since last October’s ceasefire that attempted to halt a more than two-year war between Israel and the militant Hamas group.
While the heaviest fighting has subsided, almost daily Israeli fire has continued. Israeli forces have carried out repeated airstrikes and frequently fire on Palestinians near military-held zones and have killed 1,408 Palestinians, according to Gaza health officials.
The human toll of renewed hostilities in Yemen has stretched beyond the battlefield, overwhelming a health system already battered by years of war.
More than 130,000 people have fled their homes as fighting escalates between the Houthis and Saudi-backed government forces. Fewer than 10% of health centers in affected areas are equipped to provide the care that wounded people need, according to the World Health Organization. Years of war have left hospitals with little capacity.
UNICEF says at least 15 children have been killed and another 14 wounded in the past three weeks. The agency’s representative in Yemen, Akhil Iyer, said Friday the conflict is also causing more children to go hungry in Yemen, where at least 2.2 million children under five were already projected to suffer from acute malnutrition before the escalation of violence.
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This report will be updated throughout the day as new developments emerge.
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