Iranian-backed Houthi rebels in Yemen seized a key island on Friday, after taking a Red Sea port in a threat to international shipping. Iran called on Saudi Arabia to end its blockade of Yemen and immediately resume talks.
Separately, the AI company, Anthropic said it identified and blocked users in northern Yemen over advanced missile development efforts.
Here’s a look at the latest news in the Middle East. Full coverage can be found here.
Yemen ’s Iranian-backed Houthi rebels captured a strategic island in the Bab el-Mandeb Strait at the entrance of the Red Sea, two officials said Friday, in a swift advance that further threatens Saudi oil exports through one of the world’s key commercial lanes.
Saudi Arabia responded with airstrikes against the airport in the key port city of Mokha that the Houthis seized on Thursday, a Houthi broadcaster said. There was no immediate report of damage or deaths.
The capture of Mayun, a tiny, barren volcanic island in the strait, was confirmed by a senior military official with Yemen’s internationally recognized government and by a Houthi official. Both spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to talk to journalists.
The island, also known as Perim, is about 3.5 kilometers (2 miles) off Yemen’s west coast.
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.
By Samy Magdy in Cairo
Iran’s Foreign Ministry has called for an end to Saudi Arabia’s blockade of Yemen and an immediate return to negotiations between Saudi Arabia and the Houthis, throwing its support behind its ally.
It was Iran's first public statement since the Houthis entered into the Red Sea port of Mokha on Thursday.
Iran’s ministry said Yemen’s sovereignty must be respected and its problems cannot be resolved through a blockade or military alliances. In a statement carried by the state-run IRNA news agency, Iran also said it was ready to help support negotiations.
Meanwhile, Yemen’s National Defense Council, chaired by President Rashad al-Alimi, strongly condemned the Houthis' renewed attacks on Saudi Arabia, saying it would respond to threats across the country.
The AI company, Anthropic, said it identified northern Yemen-based users running weapons development programs using its AI models for sophisticated precision, long-range ballistic and hypersonic missiles, some using commercially available smartphones.
Iran-backed Houthi rebels control northern Yemen. The rebels have been smuggling advanced weapons for years, including cruise and ballistic missiles with at least 2,000 km-range and air and sea drones, despite a blockade and U.N. arms embargo. Iran denies arming the rebels.
Anthropic said it determined the users during an internal investigation into suspected weapons development and banned their accounts. The report covers the period between December 2025 and August 2026.
Anthropic said the accounts used Claude Code to develop guidance, navigation and control software that “steers and stabilizes a flying vehicle,” including performing a flight simulation. The users were working to develop a guided rocket using mobile phones to autonomously track targets; a multi-stage ballistic missile over 2,000 km-range; and a multi-variant missile that could maneuver and glide at hypersonic speed.
It said the users test-fired a guided rocket, returning to Claude to find out why it failed. There is no evidence they succeeded in fielding a device, Anthropic said.
This report will be updated throughout the day as new developments emerge.
Yemen's Houthi rebels march during a mobilization campaign in Sanaa, Yemen, Thursday, Sept. 10, 2026. (AP Photo)
DEN BOSCH, Netherlands (AP) — Nelly Korda played like the world No. 1 in a record-setting partnership with Allisen Corpuz, helping the Americans split the opening foursomes 2-2 with Team Europe in a loud and wet start to the Solheim Cup in the Netherlands on Friday.
The early soundtrack to Day 1 — party music and chants just after dawn on a typically boisterous first tee — quickly turned into cheers from visiting American fans around a gloomy Bernardus Golf as Korda and Corpuz dominated the star-studded opening match against Europe’s best top players, Charley Hull and Lottie Woad.
With their 4-and-3 win, the U.S. pairing claimed a fifth straight win — an unprecedented feat at the Solheim Cup.
When Alison Lee and Lauren Coughlin put more red on the board by beating Nanna Koerstz Madsen and Alison Lee as rain started to fall, the United States had two of the 14 points needed to take the crystal trophy back across the Atlantic.
Europe rallied, though, with victories in the final two matches of the session.
The Swedish pairing of Maja Stark and Linn Grant went 4 up after seven holes and wound up winning 3 and 2 against Rose Zhang and Jennifer Kupcho.
Then, in the only match that went beyond the 16th hole, Esther Henseleit and Leona Maguire — who were also never behind — completed a 2-up win over Andrea Lee and Lindy Duncan on No. 18.
Korda is one of 12 players in the American team this week but is carrying the expectations of a nation.
She delivered early and improved her Solheim Cup record to 11-5-1, the kind of points tally Tiger Woods wished he'd had in Ryder Cups.
“I always make the joke to Nelly — it’s so nice to be 30 yards ahead of where I would be on my own drive,” Corpuz said. “It just makes the hole so much easier.”
Korda and Corpuz combined for the first time in Spain in 2023, winning two points, and did so again in a winning U.S cause in Virginia the following year.
They were 1 down after the first hole here, after Woad poured in a 15-footer for birdie, but the Americans only lost one more hole in the rest of the match.
As for Maguire, she moved to a 9-3-1 record, the best by any European player who has played at least five matches.
The first tee is always the place to be in these big teams events and it lived up to its billing Friday inside the horseshoe-shaped grandstand containing around 3,000 spectators.
U.S. captain Angela Stanford danced onto the tee after emerging from the tunnel. Stark and Grant swayed their hips to ABBA’s “Dancing Queen.” Duncan, a 35-year-old rookie who never expected to play a Solheim Cup, took video with her cell phone. Maguire teed off after chants of “We’ve got Maguire, USA is terrified!” and cheers for each of her practice swings.
“They’re living the dream,” European captain Anna Nordqvist said of the players, “and as a golfer it doesn’t get better than this.”
It was all very jovial, though, with respectful silence for each drive in front of a banner that read: “Dutch Courage. European Glory.”
1:05 p.m. (7:05 a.m. EDT/1105 GMT) — Yealimi Noh and Angel Yin, United States, vs. Charley Hull and Lottie Woad, Europe.
1:20 p.m. (7:20 a.m. EDT/1120 GMT) — Megan Khang and Alison Lee, United States, vs. Nanna Koerstz Madsen and Celine Boutier, Europe.
1:35 p.m. (7:35 a.m. EDT/1135 GMT) — Allisen Corpuz and Auston Kim, United States, vs. Mimi Rhodes and Nastasia Nadaud, Europe.
1:50 p.m. (7:50 a.m. EDT/1150 GMT) — Nelly Korda and Lauren Coughlin, United States, vs. Carlota Ciganda and Julia Lopez Ramirez, Europe.
The United States has an 11-7-1 advantage in a series that dates to 1990.
See AP’s full golf coverage here
U.S. fans Kerry Reilly, left, and Jane Savery watch play during the Solheim Cup at the Bernardus Golf course in Den Bosch, Netherlands, Friday, Sept. 11, 2026. (AP Photo/Alastair Grant)
Leona Maguire, left, of Europe and teammate Esther Henseleit celebrate after winning the 11th hole during the Solheim Cup at the Bernardus Golf course in Den Bosch, Netherlands, Friday, Sept. 11, 2026. (AP Photo/Alastair Grant)
Allisen Corpuz, left, of the United States hands the ball to teammate Nelly Korda during the Solheim Cup at the Bernardus Golf course in Den Bosch, Netherlands, Friday, Sept. 11, 2026. (AP Photo/Alastair Grant)
Charley Hull of Europe plays from rough on the third hole during the Solheim Cup at the Bernardus Golf course in Den Bosch, Netherlands, Friday, Sept. 11, 2026. (AP Photo/Alastair Grant)
Charley Hull of Europe plays. Shot into the first green during the Solheim Cup at the Bernardus Golf course in Den Bosch, Netherlands, Friday, Sept. 11, 2026. (AP Photo/Alastair Grant)
Spectators react ahead of play at the Solheim Cup at the Bernardus Golf course in Den Bosch, Netherlands, Friday, Sept. 11, 2026. (AP Photo/Alastair Grant)
Spectators react ahead of play at the Solheim Cup at the Bernardus Golf course in Den Bosch, Netherlands, Friday, Sept. 11, 2026. (AP Photo/Alastair Grant)
Nelly Korda, right, of the United States stakes a selfie on the first tee as teammate Allisen Corpuz watches during the Solheim Cup at the Bernardus Golf course in Den Bosch, Netherlands, Friday, Sept. 11, 2026. (AP Photo/Alastair Grant)
