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🇮🇷 | U.S. night escort fails in the Strait of Hormuz:

The LNG tanker Al-Ghashamiya, which was sailing through the southern passage of the Strait of Hormuz under U.S. protection, has abandoned its planned transit and changed course toward Fujairah in the UAE instead of continuing toward Ras Laffan, Qatar. The development comes after last night’s attacks in the Strait and amid continued missile and cruise-missile activity around the waterway, raising further questions over the effectiveness of U.S. efforts to secure commercial shipping through Hormuz. Media has separately reported a sharp decline in vessel traffic through the Strait during the current escalation.

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🇾🇪🇾🇪❌ 🇸🇦 | Fighting erupts on western Taiz fronts: Sana’a opens a new route toward Bab al-Mandab

Sana’a forces have made military advances over the past several hours in a number of strategic areas overlooking the Bab al-Mandab Strait in western Taiz, following heavy clashes with Saudi-backed factions on the strategic fronts of al-Kadha and Maqbana. The two fronts overlook the main supply routes in western Taiz province that the Saudi-backed factions use to reinforce their forces across the western rural fronts. Both fronts are considered highly important for the security of the Bab al-Mandab Strait, as they form the geographic depth and land gateway leading toward the western coast, the city of Mokha, and the strait. The al-Kadha area also serves as a link between the mountains and the western coast, and control of it opens the way for an advance toward al-Barh and then Mokha, while also allowing control over supply routes coming from Aden and Lahj toward the western coast. For this reason, Saudi-backed factions are increasingly concerned that these fronts could fall completely into the hands of Sana’a forces, which would represent, according to sources close to them, a “new threat to maritime navigation in the Bab al-Mandab Strait.”

Local sources in Taiz told Al-Akhbar that the clashes, involving various types of weapons, took place across four main sectors of the Taiz axis: al-Tuwair, al-Ahtoub, al-Kuwaiha, and Jabal Ghubari. According to the sources, Sana’a forces launched attacks on military gatherings in al-Kadha after receiving intelligence about plans by Saudi-backed factions, including the Victory Brigade affiliated with the Taiz axis and controlled by the Islah Party, to launch an attack on the contact fronts with Saudi support and coordination. Military sources affiliated with the Saudi-backed side said the clashes extended to four fronts, including areas belonging to al-Wazi’iyah district, areas belonging to Mawza, and the al-Barh axis west of Taiz, in addition to continuing clashes on the al-Kadha front in al-Ma’afer district and the al-Ahtoub and al-Kuwaiha fronts in Jabal Habashi district.

Control of the al-Kadha and Maqbana fronts opens the way for Sana’a forces to advance toward Mokha. Amid accusations by UAE-aligned activists against the Victory Brigade of handing over the al-Kadha front, informed field sources told Al-Akhbar that Sana’a forces engaged in heavy clashes with Saudi-backed factions on the Maqbana and Jabal Habashi fronts after taking control, at dawn yesterday, of the areas of Humrah, Lower al-Qouz, al-Rahbah, the Water Tank Hill, Masna’ah, and other strategic positions, as well as mountain ranges overlooking the villages of al-Afira, al-Nuwaiha, and al-Udhair, several hills in Mawza district, and the Barasha mountain range overlooking Hays district. According to the sources, forces affiliated with Tariq Saleh are currently attempting to retake some of the positions that fell to Ansar Allah, with support from formations of the southern Salafi Giants Brigades.

While Saudi-backed factions acknowledged the deaths of several of their commanders in the clashes in al-Kadha and Maqbana, Agence France-Presse quoted sources within those factions as saying that 13 of their members were killed. Media outlets affiliated with the Aden government also said the fighting was at its fiercest across the various fronts in western Taiz, expressing concern over the possible loss of the strategic road linking Taiz and Mokha through al-Kadha. At the same time, they said that groups aligned with Riyadh had retaken two military positions on the al-Kadha front after Sana’a forces had taken control of them. Later, sources aligned with the Aden government acknowledged the fall of Jabal Na’man on the Jabal Habashi front, which contains important positions and overlooks extensive military supply routes linking several fronts.

🇾🇪@enemywatch

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Activists in Mokha, meanwhile, accused Islah Party factions of withdrawing from strategic positions in Jabal Habashi and handing over Jabal Na’man, allowing Ansar Allah to take control of several positions surrounding the mountain and cut supply routes used by the Saudi-backed Joint Forces.

Activists aligned with Saleh on the western coast warned that the fall of areas overlooking the Bab al-Mandab Strait could pose risks to maritime security in the strait. Military sources in western Taiz expect the fighting to intensify in the coming days. Meanwhile, the leadership of the al-Salou front in southeastern Taiz, which is affiliated with the Aden government, announced a nighttime curfew in al-Dhabba and several surrounding areas, citing the area’s status as a direct contact line. In the same context, Saleh-affiliated factions, which are stationed along the western coast and whose leadership includes a member of the Presidential Leadership Council, acknowledged coming under a series of missile attacks. Sources close to them said Sana’a forces attacked their camps in the countryside of Mokha and south of al-Khokha with around 14 ballistic missiles and several drones. They also said air defenses intercepted some of the drones, while ruling out the possibility that the “Ansar Allah missile attacks” would affect the course of military operations.

🇾🇪@enemywatch

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🏴‍☠️❌🇮🇷 | U.S. strike on Iranian oil tanker near Kharg Island confirmed:

A small Iranian oil tanker near Kharg Island in the Persian Gulf has been targeted in a confirmed American strike. The vessel has been identified as Sanchi, and reports indicate that up to four projectiles struck the tanker during the attack. The strike follows explosions reported near Kharg Island earlier in the day, marking another escalation in the ongoing confrontation in the Persian Gulf.

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🚨 Dangerous escalation.

🇾🇪🇾🇪❌ 🇸🇦 | Battle between Yemen's forces and factions backed by Saudi Arabia have spread from western Taiz to southern Hodeidah, with expectations that the fighting could continue for weeks, particularly in the absence of any efforts toward de-escalation. Although the Aden government has acknowledged that the Saudi-backed factions have suffered human losses on the western rural fronts of Taiz and lost several positions, it is relying on time to change the course of the battle. In contrast, available developments indicate that Ansar Allah has retained most of the gains it made on the newly opened fronts and is working to secure the areas it has taken control of while restoring normal conditions there. Field sources told Al-Akhbar that clashes between the two sides have resumed following the arrival of reinforcements from the Fourth Military Region affiliated with the Aden government to the factions stationed along the western coast. The reinforcements are intended to obstruct the advance of Sana’a forces and prevent them from reaching the strategically important areas overlooking the Bab al-Mandab Strait.

🇾🇪@enemywatch

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🇮🇷 | Iran has launched ballistic missiles toward targets in the Strait of Hormuz.

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🇮🇷 ❌ 🇰🇷 | A senior Iranian political and security official told Al Mayadeen that South Korea should not sacrifice its interests and reputation for aggressive American policies. Tehran warned Seoul that any involvement against Iran in the Strait of Hormuz would be considered military participation in the aggression. The official said Iran hopes South Korea will not sacrifice its interests and reputation for American policies that undermine security and stability, adding that Seoul understands that the reason for insecurity in the Strait of Hormuz is the American-Israeli aggression. Iran urged South Korea not to respond to American pressure while ignoring the fact that the aggression is the cause of insecurity in the strait.

The official stressed that security cannot be restored in the region as long as illegal American interventions continue, or as long as the aggressive blockade and economic war against Iran remain in place. Tehran also issued a serious warning against escalating American pressure on South Korea to force it to cooperate in what Iran considers illegal American military operations. Any involvement in American military operations, the official warned, would constitute direct participation in the military war against Iran. Tehran reiterated that it will not tolerate any complicity in acts of aggression against the Iranian people and their rights.

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🇱🇧 | Statement issued by Hezbollah regarding Israel’s ongoing aggression against Lebanon:

The Israeli enemy continues to escalate its aggression and criminal acts against Lebanon killing, bombing, systematic destruction of homes and villages, erasing their landmarks, and obliterating all means of livelihood. It acts without any restraint and under flimsy pretexts. Yesterday, its terrorist aggression resulted in four martyrs and dozens of wounded. This occurs amid total international silence, blatant American complicity, and a complete failure on the part of the Lebanese authorities to fulfill their responsibilities. These authorities persist in their shameful choices, their submissive and surrenderist approach, and a framework that the enemy tramples upon daily—a framework that has brought nothing but shame and humiliation to Lebanon, and has only served to entrench the occupation and enable the enemy to persist in its aggression and crimes against the Lebanese people.

This condemned and ongoing aggression is carried out with full American partnership, cover, and planning. It has no justification other than exerting pressure on the Lebanese authorities and blackmailing them into implementing agendas whose objectives are now well-known—even if the price is drowning Lebanon in a quagmire of internal strife. The authorities’ continued pursuit of this futile, illegal, and unconstitutional path provides the enemy with cover to sustain its aggression and grants it more time to achieve its goals and impose its conditions and dictates on Lebanon.

The authorities’ claims that their fruitless direct negotiations and the infamous framework agreement with the enemy yield any achievements are rendered null and void by the ongoing occupation, aggression, bloodshed, destruction, and bombings. While the release of some Lebanese prisoners is important, it cannot serve as a pretext to ignore the persistence of aggression, occupation, and killing, nor can it justify continuing down a path that has proven ineffective and incapable of protecting Lebanon and its people. The authorities themselves have repeatedly stated they would not engage in any negotiations unless the enemy first halts its aggression.

The authorities must reevaluate their stance, abandon arrogance, and set aside stubbornness and political posturing for the sake of Lebanon and its people’s interests, returning instead to unifying national principles that safeguard Lebanon’s sovereignty. We call upon all Lebanese to stand united behind a cohesive national stance that preserves Lebanon’s strength, resilience, and sovereignty in the face of Israeli aggression.

🇱🇧@enemywatch

🇱🇧| Israeli unexploded ordnance continues to threaten southern Lebanon:

The remnants of Israeli aggression do not end with the destruction caused by the bombing of southern Lebanon. Landmines, cluster munitions, and unexploded ordnance have become another deadly legacy of the attacks, preventing thousands of residents from safely returning to their villages and homes. These unexploded munitions continue to threaten civilians, rescue teams, and workers involved in clearing rubble and restoring water, electricity, and communications networks across the south. Even after the bombing stops, the danger remains buried beneath homes, roads, farmland, and public infrastructure, turning reconstruction and daily life into a constant risk.

🔹@enemywatch

⏰ Iranian response...