CAIRO (AP) — Iran's government on Friday called for an end to Saudi Arabia's blockade of Yemen and the immediate resumption of talks, in its first public statement since Iran-backed Houthi rebels entered a key Yemeni port and intensified their threat to a key global shipping alternative to the Strait of Hormuz.
In a statement carried by the state-run IRNA news agency, Iran's foreign ministry said Yemen’s sovereignty must be respected and its problems cannot be resolved through a blockade or military alliances.
Iran also said it was ready to help support negotiations. Meanwhile, experts say the developments in Yemen could give Tehran more leverage in any negotiations with the United States after over six months of war.
The Houthis' entry into the Red Sea port of Mokha on Thursday brings them within 50 miles (80 kilometers) of the Bab el-Mandeb Strait, an important alternative for global shipping as Iran targets vessels on the Strait of Hormuz. It's the rebels' biggest territorial gain in years.
The Bab el-Mandeb at the southern end of the Red Sea is especially important to neighboring Saudi Arabia, a key U.S. ally, whose blockade of the Houthis has fed into the rebels' escalating attacks on Saudi shipping as the kingdom tries to get its oil out of the region. About 12% of the world’s goods are typically shipped through the strait.
Disruption to the waterway could mean trouble for all shipping and for the price of crude oil, which has now soared again. Already, the Houthis in recent weeks have been targeting Saudi oil infrastructure and ships on the Red Sea.
Saudi Arabia, which earlier this week said it had always offered “opportunities for negotiation,” also has said it has the right to defend itself in response to the Houthis' actions under the blockade they declared on the kingdom in July.
Shipping through the Bab al-Mandeb had fallen by about 60% since the Houthis began attacking some ships there in late 2023 while expressing solidarity with Palestinians in Gaza. Shipping increased this year as Saudi Arabia sought alternatives to the Strait of Hormuz, but renewed Houthi threats have "curtailed” that activity, according to Lloyd’s List Intelligence.
In a statement released Friday, the National Defense Council of Yemen's Saudi-backed and internationally recognized government on Thursday strongly condemned the Houthis' renewed attacks on Saudi Arabia, saying it would respond to threats. It said a military operation by Yemeni forces would not be limited to a single front.
The sharply escalating fighting threatens to end a fragile truce that had largely halted Yemen's civil war since 2022.
At stake are the 40 million people in the Arab world's poorest country who fear a return to the conflict that killed 150,000 and brought many others to the brink of famine.
The Houthis have been at war with Yemen’s government since 2014, when the rebels swept from their mountainous heartland and seized much of northern and central Yemen. Saudi Arabia entered the war the following year on behalf of the government.
Anna reported from Jerusalem.
Yemen's Houthi rebels ride a motorbike during a mobilization campaign in Sanaa, Yemen, Thursday, Sept. 10, 2026. (AP Photo)
CORON, Philippines (AP) — Firefighters entered a charred ferry in Philippine waters on Friday after a fire two nights earlier left five people dead and 84 missing and produced heat and smoke that prevented search and rescue efforts onboard.
Images released by the coast guard around midday showed three smaller boats near the MV June Aster, which appeared to have stopped emitting smoke as personnel walked on the outer portion of the ship.
Coast guard communications officer Joy Dianne Gumatay said Friday they had not received updates from the firefighting team about what was found inside, including whether there were additional fatalities.
The ferry sailed from the capital, Manila, on Wednesday evening and was around 7.4 kilometers (4.5 miles) off the village of Turda near its destination of Coron in Palawan province when the fire was reported.
Rescuers struggled to get inside the burning, smoking vessel Thursday to search for passengers who may been trapped. The efforts were halted overnight.
The cause of the fire has not been determined.
The coast guard and other vessels have rescued 43 people, some plucked from the dark waters as the ferry burned.
“The fire quickly spread. That’s when I dropped to the ground and my back was burned,” survivor Arnulfo Nokki Villanueva said in a video broadcast by News5, adding that he jumped from a window. “I wanted to get a life jacket but failed to get one because people were stepping on me. People were in panic.”
The coast guard, other government agencies, private volunteers and fishermen searched the nearby waters and coastal patrols checked for people who may have drifted to shore but no new survivors or fatalities were found.
According to the manifest, 134 people were onboard, 117 of them passengers and 17 crew. The 53-meter (174-foot) vessel had a capacity to carry 306 passengers and 27 crew.
Two passengers listed in the manifest reported to authorities that they failed to board, bringing the number of missing to 84, the coast guard said.
Two of the survivors were tourists from Chile, according to Rachel Conserman, a staffer of the ship’s owner Atienza Interisland Ferries Inc. They are recovering from injuries in a hospital in Coron, she said, adding that there no other foreigners known to have been on the ship.
The shipping company said in a statement it was assisting those who were on board and their families while coordinating with the coast guard and maritime officials to locate the missing passengers and determine the cause.
Coron is a popular tourist destination known for clear blue waters, limestone cliffs and rock formations.
Ferries are frequently used for transport in the Philippine archipelago. Sea accidents are not uncommon due to storms, badly maintained vessels, overcrowding and spotty enforcement of safety regulations, especially in remote provinces.
Cerojano reported from Manila, Philippines.
People prepare equipment to go out to sea from a pier in Turda, Palawan province, Philippines, Friday, Sept. 11, 2026, days after ferry MV June Aster caught fire. (AP Photo/Harly Clark Cachero)
In this photo provided by the Philippine Coast Guard, aerial survey is being conducted around ferry MV June Aster off Palawan province, western Philippines, Friday, Sept. 11, 2026, days after it caught fire. (Philippine Coast Guard via AP)
This photo provided by the Philippine Coast Guard shows the ferry MV June Aster off Palawan province, western Philippines, Friday, Sept. 11, 2026, days after it caught fire. (Philippine Coast Guard via AP)
In this photo provided by the Philippine Coast Guard, ferry MV June Aster smolders off Palawan province, western Philippines, Friday, Sept. 11, 2026, days after it caught fire. (Philippine Coast Guard via AP)
In this photo provided by the Philippine Coast Guard, ferry MV June Aster smolders off Palawan province, western Philippines, Friday, Sept. 11, 2026, days after it caught fire. (Philippine Coast Guard via AP)
