More US troops have died during the US-Israeli war with Iran than the number publicly disclosed by the Pentagon, The Washington Post reported on Friday, citing US officials. The newspaper, citing five unidentified officials, reported that at least 22 US military personnel had died, four more than the number listed in data available on the Pentagon’s public database.
A large plume of smoke was visible near Riyadh’s main airport on Saturday after booms were heard and Saudi Arabia sent alerts overnight warning of potential danger around the capital, amid an escalation in attacks by Yemen’s Houthi group.
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Iran executed a man convicted of passing missile site intelligence to Israel during the 12-day war, according to the judiciary. Iran’s judiciary-run Mizan news agency said Hossein Pedaran was hanged after the Supreme Court upheld his death sentence on charges of espionage and intelligence cooperation with Israel.
Saudi civil defence sent an all-clear on Saturday after issuing alerts for a second time for potential danger in Riyadh and the city of Al-Kharj east of the capital, amid an uptick in attacks by Iran-aligned Houthis on the Gulf country. The alerts were the first for the capital since Houthis in neighbouring Yemen intensified their attacks on Saudi Arabia.
Iran’s Revolutionary Guard Corps says it struck a Togo-flagged tanker attempting to pass through the Strait of Hormuz, according to the Associated Press (AP), as the Islamic Republic marked its largest pro-government rally since the US and Israel launched strikes in February. Meanwhile, South Korean officials met with US Secretary of State Marco Rubio in Washington, per Reuters, to work through friction over Seoul’s role in Middle East maritime security and a stalled $350 billion investment package.
Tanker attacks and mass rally in Tehran: Iranian state media reported the Guard’s navy struck the tanker Trend on Thursday night over what it called an “illegal attempt” to transit the strait, the AP reported. The Guard’s navy has warned that any vessel crossing without authorization would face “destruction,” according to the state broadcaster. Separately, UK Maritime Trade Operations said a different tanker was hit Wednesday by an unidentified projectile while leaving the strait; the crew was reported unharmed.
Key world developments:
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- Iran claims a strike on the tanker Trend in the Strait of Hormuz; a second tanker was hit by an unknown projectile, per UKMTO.
- Hundreds of thousands rallied in Tehran in the war’s largest pro-government show of support to date.
- South Korea says it won’t deploy troops to the Middle East but is weighing an expanded naval presence in the Gulf of Aden.
- Rubio and Cho reaffirmed a shared commitment to North Korean denuclearization, with Lee saying a Trump-Kim summit remains possible but uncertain.
- Yemen: pro-Houthi rallies continued after Saudi Arabia accused the group of targeting Mecca; the Houthis have denied responsibility.
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