Houthis target Riyadh airport, Aramco refinery as Saudi-led coalition strikes Yemen

The U.N. World Food Programme (WFP) said Monday that one of its staff members who had been detained by the Houthis in Yemen was released and reunited with his family.

“We stand in solidarity with the 72 U.N. personnel and five former U.N. personnel, including WFP colleagues, who remain detained in Yemen, and will continue to pursue every possible avenue to secure their immediate and safe release,” the program said in a statement.

WFP joined the U.N. secretary-general in calling for the release of all detained U.N. personnel and other humanitarian workers in Yemen, it added.

U.S. Central Command (CENTCOM) said Monday that its forces have redirected 130 ships since the start of its blockade of Iranian ports.

It also confirmed that it had destroyed 13 ships that were violating the blockade or were part of IRGC's multibillion-dollar shadow network.

“The U.S. military remains intensely focused on this mission,” CENTCOM Commander Adm. Brad Cooper said in a post on X.

“We will swiftly act against any vessels trying to run the blockade. Our forces are highly trained, professional, and lethal,” he added.

Norway’s Christian Democratic Party has proposed to establish its own terror blacklist, which would include Hamas, Hezbollah, Palestinian Islamic Jihad and the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, The Jerusalem Post.

Norway does not have its own terrorist organization list, instead relying on the UN sanctions framework.

Parliament will vote on whether to instruct the government to develop a system for creating the list, the outlet said. If approved, the government would determine its legal and administrative framework.

“We have been working on this for some time,” Christian Democratic Party lawmaker Joel Ystebø told The Jerusalem Post.

“The reason why we are putting forward this proposal is that many of our allies have their own lists, and we think that would be very good for Norway, too, because it is important to take a stand when it comes to terrorism and antisemitism.."

Saudi-backed Yemeni forces shared a video Monday showing their forces targeting Houthi militia amid reports that the port of Mocha had been recaptured.

“Targeting by our armed forces of elements of the Houthi terrorist militia and its military equipment within Operation ‘Dawn of Yemen,’” the spokesman for the Yemeni Armed Forces said on X.

This came as the Defense Ministry said its armed forces had recaptured Mocha, which the Houthis seized last month.

Saudi-led coalition spokesperson Maj. Gen. Turki al-Malki also said Monday that 100 fighter jets were involved in Operation “Dawn of Yemen,” with forces destroying 324 high-value Houthi targets.

Washington moved 12 American bombers from RAF Fairford in the U.K. on Sunday amid concerns about a potentially complex drone attack ordered by the IRGC, The Wall Street Journal reported Monday.

Citing officials, the outlet reported the planned attack was part of a plot to target the aircraft and kill personnel at the base, including American pilots.

“We do feel with some confidence that the Iranians are trying to do what the Iranian state has done for 49 years, which is engage in acts of terrorism against the United States and against a lot of other people as well,” Vice President JD Vance said Monday. “We are being extremely cautious.”

When pressed by reporters on the tarmac before departing for Grand Island, Nebraska, about whether Iran had brought combat drones into the United Kingdom, President Donald Trump replied, “I can't tell you that,” before stating, “But if they did, they'll suffer greatly.”

The U.K. arrested and released on bail six men over the suspected terror plot as the investigation continues.

The United States, Paraguay, and eight other Western nations issued a joint statement Monday condemning Iranian terrorist activity across the region.

The declaration, which followed a co-hosted Countering Transnational Terrorism Forum between the U.S. and Paraguay, called on Tehran and its proxies to immediately halt all hostile operations.

The nations highlighted ongoing threats including lethal plotting, illicit fundraising, foreign political interference, and efforts to strengthen regional terrorist networks.

The coalition includes Argentina, Canada, Colombia, Costa Rica, the Dominican Republic, Guyana, Paraguay, Peru, Trinidad and Tobago, and the U.S.

“This is part of the Trump Administration’s ongoing efforts to reinforce our joint resolve to safeguard our hemisphere’s safety and security,” the State Department said.

The U.S. Treasury Department issued a warning Monday to foreign financial institutions, stating that any continued business with Iran or its financial sector could trigger immediate sanctions without prior notice.

“Foreign financial institutions continuing to transact with sanctioned Iranian financial institutions could be targeted at any time without advance notification and should take immediate action to terminate such activity and relationships,” the Treasury Department said.

U.S. sanctions successfully froze Iranian oil exports completely last month as the country's currency plunged to record lows, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said Monday.

“Operation Economic Outcast is delivering results: the rial has plunged to record lows, Iran loaded zero crude oil onto tankers last month, and even Iran’s top security official has admitted the country is facing one of the most difficult periods in its history,” Bessent said on X.

“The Iranian regime allows its own people to suffer while it pours resources into terrorism,” he added before vowing that Operation Economic Outcast would not stop until the Iranian regime understands that Washington “will never allow the regime to fund terrorism and develop a nuclear weapon.” 

The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) is pushing back against claims that it purposely targets journalists in Gaza, stating that individuals "presented as innocent journalists" were actually in Hamas, Palestinian Islamic Jihad (PIJ) and other terrorist organizations.

"They presented themselves as legitimate media professionals while serving terrorist organizations that regularly use propaganda and psychological warfare," the IDF stated on its website.

"Journalists are expected to report the unbiased truth," the IDF continued. "Yet these individuals concealed a fundamental truth about themselves: their own roles within military wings of terrorist organizations."

The IDF noted that targeting journalists is a violation of international law, but said that many articles, opinion pieces and reports have misled the public.

As a result, the IDF launched an "in-depth investigation based on a wide range of intelligence sources, including open-source information, documents gathered in the field, interrogations of military operatives by Israeli intelligence bodies," to determine that claims the group violated international law do not tell the full story.

The IDF listed 170 alleged military operatives who were reportedly working as journalists.

This is an excerpt from a report by Fox News Digital's Brian Flood.

President Donald Trump issued a stark warning to Tehran on Monday, saying Iran would “suffer greatly” if it brought combat drones into the United Kingdom, while predicting the war with Iran will end shortly.

When pressed by reporters on the tarmac before departing for Grand Island, Nebraska, about whether Iran had brought combat drones into the United Kingdom, Trump replied: “I can't tell you that.”

“But if they did, they'll suffer greatly.”

The president also said the war with Iran “ is going to end very soon. One way or the other.”

Another tanker was hit by an unknown projectile in the Strait of Hormuz on Monday, sparking a fire in its engine room, the United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations (UKMTO) reported.

The maritime organization said there were no reported casualties or environmental impacts.

“Authorities are investigating. Vessels are advised to transit with caution and report any suspicious activity to UKMTO,” it said in a statement on X.

This was the third incident in the waterway in the last 48 hours.

The U.S. Embassy in Riyadh issued a security alert Monday warning Americans in Saudi Arabia of potential drone and missile attacks.

“Due to the ongoing security situation in Saudi Arabia and the potential for aerial drone or missile attacks on Saudi Arabia, the U.S. Mission strongly encourages all U.S. citizens to remain vigilant and follow the guidance of national alerts released by Saudi Arabia’s Civil Defense,” the embassy said on X.

The warning came amid rising tension in the region as Saudi-backed Yemeni government forces launched a lightning advance, retaking the coast along the Bab el-Mandab Strait through the city of Mocha and driving Iran-backed Houthis from most of the territory they seized last month, the government said. 

Iran’s army chief warned Monday that the country’s armed forces are ready to deliver a "crushing" response to any renewed U.S. military action while accusing Washington of turning to economic sanctions after losing the battle.

“After failing on the military battlefield, the enemy has resorted to other methods and, through sanctions and economic pressure, is trying to put the people under pressure, while at the same time pursuing many measures to create insecurity and unrest,” Hatami said, according to Fars, the state-affiliated news agency.

Hatami added that Iranian forces would deliver “a crushing and decisive response” if the United States makes “another mistake.” 

Iran is adopting a mirror narrative, using President Donald Trump's own claims to make their own.

Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian lashed out at the United States on Monday, saying negotiations have “no meaning” with an enemy that “terrorizes, sanctions, pressures and threatens on a daily basis,” according to Iranian state media.

The irony of the remarks are very close to what Trump and his administration has long claimed of Iran.

The comments signal Tehran’s hardening public stance as the Iran war continues to fuel attacks on global shipping routes, energy disruptions and growing threats to U.S. assets abroad.

They also come as Trump has said Iran wants to make a deal “quickly and badly,” while U.S. officials continue to press military and economic pressure on Tehran.

Retired Gen. Jack Keane said Monday that Saudi Arabia “cannot let” the Iran-backed Houthis maintain control near the Bab al-Mandeb Strait, calling the waterway “strategically as significant as the Straits of Hormuz.”

“The Houthis escalated significantly when they took control of the Bab al-Mandeb Straits,” Keane told Monday's Fox News “America’s Newsroom.” “That’s a waterway that is strategically as significant as the Straits of Hormuz, and the Saudis, in terms of its impact on them and their economy, they can’t let that stand.”

Keane said a U.S. task force led by a three-star general is helping provide intelligence and targeting assistance to Saudi-backed forces, while Israel may also be providing support.His comments came as Yemen’s Saudi-backed government launched a major offensive against the Houthis, who have threatened shipping and energy flows through the Red Sea during the Iran war.

Keane also called the U.S. decision to move B-1 bombers out of RAF Fairford in the U.K. “significant,” saying it indicates U.S. leaders believe there is a threat to the base and are taking precautionary measures.