Houthis say they won't attack US vessels in Red Sea, and other Mideast
developments
[September 21, 2026]
A senior official with the Iran-backed Houthi rebels said the group has
assured U.S. President Donald Trump's administration that it won’t
attack U.S. vessels in the Red Sea, even as he warned countries against
joining Saudi Arabia in Yemen’s revived civil war.
The comments came as the Houthis fired a ballistic missile at Saudi
Arabia's capital over the weekend.
Iran’s top diplomat will stop in Qatar on his way to the United Nations’
annual gathering of world leaders. And the head of the CIA has been in
Egypt meeting with its president.
An Israeli was fatally shot in the occupied West Bank, while Israel's
military said it killed a man who attempted to ram his vehicle into
troops elsewhere in the Palestinian territory.
Here is the latest news from the Middle East on Sunday. Full coverage is
available here.
Houthi official warns countries not to join Saudis in Yemen conflict
A senior official with the Iran-backed Houthi rebels is warning
countries against joining Saudi Arabia in Yemen’s revived civil war,
telling The Associated Press on Sunday that his group has assured the
Trump administration that it won’t attack U.S. vessels in the Red Sea.
Mohamed al-Bukhaiti, a member of the Houthis’ political bureau, said
Washington reached out to the rebels after their rapid advance down
Yemen’s western coast to the Bab el-Mandeb Strait earlier this month.
“We confirmed that we are not targeting the United States, or any other
nation, in the strait, with the sole exception of the Saudi enemy,” he
told The Associated Press in a Zoom interview from the rebel-held Yemeni
capital, Sanaa. “That remains the case.”
Iran’s top diplomat will stop in Qatar on way to US
Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi will stop briefly in Qatar
before going to New York for the U.N. General Assembly, the state-run
IRNA news agency reported.
Tehran has said it is awaiting a U.S. response to conditions it conveyed
through Qatar for ending the war. Iran’s Supreme National Security
Council chief Mohsen Rezaei told Al Jazeera on Saturday the conditions
include ending the war on all fronts, releasing Iranian assets seized by
the U.S. and ending the U.S. naval blockade of Iranian ports.
Araghchi is among Iran’s senior officials given visas by Washington to
attend the U.N. gathering, along with President Masoud Pezeshkian,
despite the war.
CIA chief visits Egypt and meets with its president
Central Intelligence Agency Director John Ratcliffe was in Egypt meeting
with President Abdel-Fattah el-Sissi, the president’s office said.
The statement said el-Sissi expressed support for a deal to resolve the
Iranian crisis and ensure the freedom of shipping navigation. He also
rejected any aggression against Arab countries. Last week, Egypt’s
president hosted Saudi Arabia’s crown prince, who was seeking support
against attacks by neighboring Yemen’s Iran-backed Houthi rebels.
El-Sissi also urged the full implementation of the second phase of the
U.S. ceasefire plan for Gaza. Egypt has been a key mediator and borders
the Palestinian territory.
An Israeli is shot dead in the West Bank
A 30-year-old Israeli man was killed near the Neve Tzuf settlement north
of Ramallah, hours before Yom Kippur, the holiest day in the Jewish
calendar.
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Supporters of Yemen's Houthi rebels march with a poster showing
their leader Abdul Malik al-Houthi during a rally to mark the 12
year anniversary of the fall of Sanaa to the Houthis in Sanaa,
Yemen, Sunday, Sept. 20, 2026. (AP Photo/Osamah Abdulrahman)
Israel's military said the suspected attacker opened fire from a
vehicle and fled on foot. After a search by security forces, the
military said the man, who was injured while fleeing, was detained
at a hospital where he had sought care.
The Samaria regional council said the killed man, Netanel Shakron,
was a settler who had been bathing at a spring ahead of Yom Kippur.
It was the second time an Israeli civilian had been killed in a
confrontation with a Palestinian this year in the West Bank,
according to the U.N.
Separately, the military said it killed a Palestinian man who
attempted to carry out a ramming attack against soldiers at an
intersection near Jenin in the northern West Bank, less than an hour
later. The military said it was searching for another man who was in
the car.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in a statement called the attacks
“despicable" and instructed the military to expand operations in the
West Bank.
Tensions have surged in the West Bank, and extremist Israeli settler
attacks against Palestinians have increased exponentially,
emboldened by right-wing, ultra-nationalist politicians in Israel's
government. Earlier Sunday, Israeli troops carried out a large
counterterrorism operation in the northern West Bank town of Al-Mughayyir.
Palestinian officials said at least 28 people were detained.
Iran closes a French-language center in Tehran
Iranian authorities said they closed a French-language center
affiliated with the French Embassy in Tehran, accusing it of
operating without a license and engaging in activities against
national security.
The Iranian judiciary’s Mizan news agency said the Tehran
prosecutor’s office ordered the closure after repeated warnings. It
alleged the center used language courses as a cover for projects
including identifying and networking with Iranian elites and
facilitating their departure from the country. It offered no
evidence.
There was no immediate embassy comment.
6 French nationals on trial in Iraq over alleged IS ties
Six French nationals in Iraq have been tried on suspicion of being
members of the extremist Islamic State group, Iraqi judicial and
security officials told The Associated Press.
The officials, who said it could take several proceedings before a
verdict is issued, spoke on condition of anonymity because they were
not authorized to speak with the media.
The six are among 47 French nationals held in Iraq who were among
thousands of people with suspected IS links and who were repatriated
from neighboring Syria early this year.
— By Qassim Abdul-Zahra in Baghdad
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