Iran-Backed Houthi Target Riyadh, Aden Airports

RFE
07 Oct 2026

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07:04

Yemen's Iran-Backed Houthi Target Riyadh, Aden Airports In New Attacks

Iran-backed Houthi rebels said they targeted King Khalid International Airport in the Saudi capital, Riyadh, with a ballistic missile on October 7, as the group launched a fresh wave of attacks on Saudi Arabia and Yemen's government-held south.

"Our armed forces have just targeted King Khalid Airport in Riyadh with a ballistic missile. The strike was accurate, by God's grace, and led to a disruption of air traffic at the airport," Houthi military spokesman Yahya Saree said in a statement on X.

The Saudi-led coalition backing Yemen's internationally recognized government said its forces had intercepted a ballistic missile north of Riyadh fired by the Houthis.

The attacks came as Yemen's Transport Ministry said the Houthis had also targeted Aden International Airport, the main international gateway for areas outside Houthi control, with drones and ballistic missiles.

The ministry said one missile landed near a runway minutes before a flight from Cairo was due to land, forcing authorities to cancel the landing and divert the plane to Jeddah in Saudi Arabia. The Houthis separately said they had targeted military supplies at a camp near the airport.

The flurry of attacks came as fighting intensified following a counteroffensive by Yemeni government forces backed by Saudi-led coalition air power.

Earlier this week, Yemen's military said its forces had driven Houthi fighters from areas around the Bab al-Mandab Strait, a key Red Sea shipping chokepoint, and the port city of Mocha.

Claims by both sides have been difficult to independently verify, with the situation on the ground moving rapidly and access for journalists limited.

After a four-year cease-fire, the Houthis, who control most of northwest Yemen, seized nearly all of Yemen's Red Sea coastline last month in the country's deadliest fighting in years.

The renewed fighting has reignited Yemen's long-running civil conflict, adding to a wider Middle East war that has disrupted global energy markets and trade routes.

With reporting by Reuters. This blog post has been updated. Share

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23:50

6.10.2026

Iranian Judiciary Targets Artists And Minorities To Stifle Dissent

Artist Parastou Forouhar's work addressing human rights and political oppression in Iran first unveiled in 2003 in Berlin.

Iranian authorities are intensifying their crackdown on artists, writers, poets, musicians, and other cultural figures, according to the latestreportby a human rights organization issued on October 6.

In the report, the Center for Human Rights in Iran says peaceful voices from the countrys culture sphere are becoming victims of the wide suppression of decent alongside political figures and outspoken activists.

In recent weeks, cultural figures have been arbitrarily arrested, detained incommunicado, prosecuted, and imprisoned for songs, poems, paintings, books, social media activity, and other forms of peaceful expression, says the report.

The report claims coerced confessions and sham judiciary processes seem to be aimed especially at ethnic minorities, including Ahwazi Arabs, Kurds, and Lurs.

Citing cases, such as judicial proceedings against Mehdi Naseri, Asad Halfi, or poet Nima Saffar imprisoned for one year over Instagram posts, the center quotes anonymous source saying that this behavior stems from the authorities fear of protests erupting, particularly in deprived areas and among economically disadvantaged citizens. It pointed out that the targeted artists tend to come from unprivileged and marginalized communities.

TheCenter for Human Rights in Iranis a New York-based team of journalists, researchers, and human rights advocates which monitors the situation of the ground in collaboration with investigators, civil society activists, and human rights defenders inside Iran.

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21:01

6.10.2026

Attack On Oil Tanker Passing Through Strait Of Hormuz Leaves 12 Injured

Vessels trickle through the Strait of Hormuz in early September.

India's Foreign Ministrysaidon October 6 that 12 crew members of the Panama-flagged oil tanker On Peace were injured after an unidentified projectile struck the vessel while it was passing through the Strait of Hormuz. Eleven of those injured were Indian nationals, and there were 19 people aboard.

With assistance from Omani authorities, the injured crew members were evacuated to Khasab, Oman, for medical treatment, the ministry said. Oman's Armed Forces Media Office separately said it had carried out a medical evacuation operation involving 10 crew members.

The United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations (UKMTO) reported on October 5 that an oil tanker had been attacked in the area and that its engine room caught fire, without initially identifying the vessel.

Reuters reported that Anglo-Eastern Tanker Management Hong Kong manages the tanker and ONEX DMCC operates it. Kpler data showed the vessel was last seen unloading fuel oil in Fujairah, UAE, on August 26, with its tracking transmitter switched off.

UKMTO also reported three maritime incidents involving vessels in the strait on October 6.

The incidents come amid heightened tensions in the Strait of Hormuz. Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC) has acknowledged targeting smaller vessels attempting to pass through the waterway.

Separately, US Central Command said on October 5 that its forces had diverted 130 commercial vessels, disabled three, and destroyed 13 over the previous 12 weeks.

The Strait normally carries roughly 20 percent of globally traded oil.

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16:52

6.10.2026

Iran's Medicine Shortages Fuel Black Market for Essential Drugs

Iranians try to fill their prescriptions at a pharmacy in Tehran.

Iran's worsening medicine shortages are pushing patients toward a growing black market, where essential drugs can be found at several times their official prices.

The Iranian Pharmacists Association says around 800 medicines are currently on the country's shortage list. The shortages have been compounded by financial constraints, difficulties importing medicines and raw materials, and flight restrictions following the 12-day war with Israel in June 2025 and the ongoing conflict with the United States.

Mehdi Pirsalehi, head of Iran's Food and Drug Administration, has cited financial difficulties such as a shortage of the foreign currency needed for imports as a major cause of the crisis.

For patients, the consequences can be severe.

A 45-year-old woman being treated for breast cancer told RFE/RL's Radio Farda that pharmacies repeatedly said they were out of stock of the Iranian-version of Aromasin, a drug she must take daily. A 30-tablet pack officially costs 4 million rials (about $1.50). She paid 50 million rials (about $19) on the black market, 12.5 times the official price.

She also said she paid at least 30 million rials (about $11) per injection of Zometa, and that two of them turned out to be counterfeit and caused her complications. Like other people who spoke to RFE/RL's Radio Farda, she asked that her name be withheld for security reasons.

To read the full report, clickhere.

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14:39

6.10.2026

British Prosecutors Say 3 Iranians Spied On Journalists

British prosecutors said on October 6 that three Iranian men on trial in London spied on dissident journalists on behalf of Iran's foreign intelligence service in preparation for a violent attack.

Mostafa Sepahvand, 41, Farhad Javadi Manesh, 46, and Shapoor Qalehali Khani Noori, 57, are accused of surveiling journalists working for the Persian-language television network Iran International between August 2024 and March 2025.

All three have denied the charges.

Prosecutor Bill Emlyn Jones told jurors at Woolwich Crown Court the defendants had researched at least two Iran International journalists, visited addresses linked to them, and taken photographs and videos in preparation for an attack that Sepahvand was allegedly expected to carry out.

"Their ultimate objective was that one, perhaps more than one, of these targets would be subjected to serious violence, no doubt as retribution for their criticism of the Iranian regime and to try to silence and deter others," Emlyn Jones said.

He said the alleged surveillance was intended to assist Iran's intelligence service and described it as a form of spying.

The prosecutor said the three men accepted they had visited the locations and taken photographs and videos but disputed the reasons for doing so.

Manesh and Noori say they did not know they were assisting Iranian intelligence, while Sepahvand accepted he knew but claims he was "bullied or threatened into doing what he did."

The three men were charged in 2025 under Britain's National Security Act. They are accused of engaging in conduct likely to assist a foreign intelligence service. Sepahvand faces an additional charge involving surveillance, reconnaissance, and open-source research with the intention of committing serious violence, while Manesh and Noori face additional charges alleging that serious violence would be committed by others.

The trial is expected to last up to six weeks.

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11:26

6.10.2026

Montenegro Extradites Iranian Accused Of Revolutionary Guards-Linked Hacks To US

By

RFE/RL's Balkan Service

Amir Barati was arrested in Podgorica in June. (file photo)

Montenegro hasextradited Iranian-Turkish dual national Amir Baratito the United States to face charges over an alleged hacking campaign that US prosecutors say stole research and intellectual property from American universities for the benefit of Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC) and other Iranian entities.

Barati, 40, was arrested in Montenegro in June and is among 17 people charged in connection with alleged cyberoperations linked to the Tehran-based Mabna Institute. The US Justice Department said the hacking campaigntargeted some 150 US universitiesand nearly 180 universities in other countries, compromising thousands of professor email accounts and stealing academic data and intellectual property.

According to US prosecutors, the hackers stole more than 31 terabytes of academic data and intellectual property. American universities had spent approximately $3.4 billion to procure and access the material targeted by the hackers.

The Justice Department says the Mabna Institute conducted its university hacking campaign on behalf of the IRGC and also worked for other Iranian government entities and universities.

Barati is accused of helping monitor spear-phishing campaigns, exchanging compromised credentials, identifying potential targets and conducting network reconnaissance.

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09:52

6.10.2026

US Says 13 Ships Destroyed In Iran Blockade Since July

US forces redirected a 130th commercial vessel in the Middle East on October 5 as Washington continued enforcing its naval blockade against Iran, the American military's Central Command (CENTCOM) said.

CENTCOMsaidthe blockade against vessels seeking to enter or leave Iranian ports resumed on July 14 at President Donald Trump's direction.

US forces have also disabled three ships that refused to comply and destroyed 13 commercial vessels over the past 12 weeks for violating the blockade or allegedly forming part of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps' shadow network.

"The military remains intensely focused on this mission," CENTCOM commander Admiral Brad Cooper said, adding that forces would "swiftly act against any vessels trying to run the blockade."

CENTCOM advised mariners operating near the Gulf of Oman and Strait of Hormuz to monitor US naval notices.

The United States initially imposed the blockade from April 13 to June 18, before lifting it amid a temporary easing of hostilities with Tehran. Washington reinstated it on July 14 as fighting with Iran resumed, again targeting maritime traffic entering and leaving Iranian ports.

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09:19

6.10.2026

US Treasury Warns Foreign Financial Institutions Over Iran Ties

Foreign financial institutions continuing to do business with Iran or its financial sector may face sanctions under "Operation Economic Outcast," the US Treasury Departmentsaid in an alert on October 5.

The Treasury urged institutions to immediately terminate transactions and relationships with sanctioned Iranian financial entities.

"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," it said.

Operation Economic Outcast was launched by the Trump administration in August as a broad campaign to further isolate Iran from the global financial system and target revenue streams, financial networks, and intermediaries that Washington says enable Tehran to evade sanctions.

The campaign has since included sanctions and other measures targeting Iranian aviation,military procurement, and industrial sectors, as well as financial networks used to move funds and circumvent existing restrictions.

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07:48

6.10.2026

US Withdraws Bombers From UK Base Amid Reports Of Iran Plot

A US Air Force B-1 Lancer bomber is pictured on the tarmac at the RAF Fairford base in Fairford in southwest England late last month.

The United States withdrew about a dozen B-1 long-range bombers from a military base in Britain after intelligence pointed to a possible Iranian drone attack, US media reported, citing American and European officials.

The Wall Street Journal said Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps was suspected of planning an attack on RAF Fairford aimed at destroying aircraft and killing personnel, including US pilots. The base has been used in recent US strikes on Iran.

US President Donald Trump acknowledged a threat and said those responsible "would be linked to Iran," while Vice President JD Vance said the aircraft were moved out of an abundance of caution. Secretary of State Marco Rubio, however, said there was no direct link between the withdrawal and the suspected plot.

The reports come after five British men were arrested near Fairford in late September on suspicion of preparing terrorist acts. A sixth suspect, a dual British-Iranian national, was detained days later. All six were subsequently released on bail.

Iran has rejected accusations of involvement as baseless. Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi said Britain was "barking up the wrong tree."

The Pentagon said all US bombers deployed to Fairford had returned to their home bases in the United States.

With reporting by Reuters and dpaShare

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18:18

5.10.2026

Yemeni Government Claims Key Gains In Counteroffensive Against Houthis

Saudi-backed Yemeni government forces said on October 5 that they had secured effective control of the Bab el-Mandeb Strait after advancing rapidly along the coast with heavy Saudi air support, though fighting with Iran-backed Houthi forces continued in the area.

Yemeni Information Minister Moammar al-Eryani told Reuters that government forces had seized key positions around Dhubab, at the straits narrowest point, including an airstrip, and had cut off remaining Houthi forces.

Another government source said fighting continued at a nearby military base, while the Houthis denied government forces had made gains.

Elsewhere, the Houthis reportedly made gains around Taiz, with government military sources saying their advances had effectively encircled the government-held the city, although another government source disputed that a key road had been cut.

The Houthis also warned that Saudi airspace will be the theatre of operations of our armed forces.

The Yemeni government launched its counteroffensive with extensive Saudi air support after the Houthis seized stretches of Red Sea coastline in September.

The renewed fighting has displaced some 184,000 people and threatens shipping through Bab el-Mandeb, a vital chokepoint linking the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden.

With reporting by AFP and ReutersShare

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