Saudi-led coalition says it has destroyed Yemeni rebels' missile facilities, and other Mideast news

The Saudi-led coalition battling Yemen's Houthi rebels said Monday it has degraded their ability to strike targets inside the kingdom after destroying tunnels used to store ballistic missiles and missile launchers.

In Israel, the country's defense minister strongly denied that the military has clashed with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu over his reported instructions for an “action” against Iran ahead of national elections on Tuesday.

Here is the latest news from the Middle East on Monday. Read our full coverage here.

The spokesperson for the Saudi-led coalition fighting the Iran-backed Houthis said an operation in Houthi-controlled territory in Yemen destroyed five tunnels used for storing ballistic missiles, four ballistic missile launchers and another missile storage facility.

Spokesperson Maj. Gen. Turki Al-Malki said in a post on X that the operation also aimed at cutting off the Houthis' supply lines between areas under their control and targeted rebel fortifications and military equipment along the front lines inside Yemen.

Al-Malki said the coalition would continue to use “deterrent operational measures” to protect against the Houthis' “brutal attacks” inside the kingdom and in Yemen.

Yemen’s Houthi rebels claimed Monday that they struck military gatherings and weapons depots belonging to Saudi-backed government forces in Aden and Lahj provinces.

The Houthi military spokesperson Yahya Saree said in a statement that the rebels fired ballistic missiles at the sites, inflicting losses. The Associated Press couldn’t independently verify the claims.

The Houthis continue to target government forces and their allies inside Yemen. The Yemeni government accused the rebels late on Sunday of targeting displacement camps in the outskirts of the southern port city of Aden. The government didn’t provide evidence to back this claim.

Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz on Monday dismissed reports regarding rifts between the political leadership and the Israeli military over Iran as "completely baseless and false.”

In a post on X, Katz also said Israel had no intention to strike Iran before Tuesday’s national elections.

Israeli Channel 12 reported Sunday evening that Netanyahu and Israel's military chief of staff clashed over the Israeli prime minister's instruction to carry out an “action” that the army believes could quickly reignite the conflict with Iran. The report did not specify the nature of the action.

Netanyahu’s office later described the report as “fake news.”

“There has been no intention by Israel of initiating an attack on Iran before the elections in Israel,” Katz said. “We made it clear that should Iran attack Israel, we would respond with great force.”

Israel’s President Isaac Herzog said on Monday he won’t bend to pressure from U.S. President Donald Trump on which party he will select first to form a government after Tuesday's national elections.

Herzog’s role is largely ceremonial. No single party is expected to outright win control of the country’s parliament, or Knesset. The president is expected to tap the leader of the party with the most support to try to build a governing coalition, a process that could drag out for days or weeks, or fail entirely and force Israelis to return to the polls to vote again.

Herzog's remarks came after Trump reiterated his endorsement for Netanyahu, who is in a tight race to remain in power.

Herzog told the MS NOW cable news network that neither Trump nor anyone else “can intervene" and that it was up to him to see “what the facts are.”

Pakistan’s army chief, Field Marshal Asim Munir, was expected in Tehran for talks with Iran’s top political and military leaders on Monday, along with Saudi and Turkish officials in a bid to ease regional tensions, according to two senior officials.

Munir also visited Tehran last week as part of efforts to revive U.S.-Iran talks and discuss ongoing attacks on Saudi Arabia by the Iran-backed Houthi rebels.

The officials, who spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to discuss the visit publicly, gave no further information.

Iran’s ambassador to Pakistan, Reza Amiri Moghadam, said on Saturday that Tehran remains willing to negotiate with the United States under an interim agreement brokered by Pakistan in June to end the conflict. He accused Washington of obstructing diplomacy and prolonging the dispute over the Strait of Hormuz.

Moghadam said in Islamabad that during Munir's previous visit to Tehran, Iranian officials conveyed to him their offer to reopen the strait if the U.S. lifted its naval blockade of Iranian ports. Moghadam said Trump rejected the offer by insisting the blockade would remain in place.

— By Munir Ahmed in Islamabad, Pakistan.

This report will be updated throughout the day as new developments emerge.

A girl swings along the shore as cargo ships and other commercial vessels appear anchored in the Strait of Hormuz off Bandar Abbas, Iran, Tuesday, Oct. 13, 2026. (Razieh Poudat/ISNA via AP)

An audience member cheers as Gadi Eisenkot, leader of the Yashar ("Straight") party speaks at a campaign rally ahead of Israel's general election, Sunday, Oct. 25, 2026, in Tel Aviv, Israel. (AP Photo/David Goldman)

A man searches through the debris of his damaged home following airstrikes in Sanaa, Yemen, Saturday, Oct. 24, 2026. (AP Photo/Osamah Abdulrahman)

A displaced Yemeni boy fills water containers from a storage tank at the Al-Fardous displacement camp in Ras Imran, on the outskirts of Aden, Yemen, Sunday, Oct. 25, 2026. (AP Photo/Abdulnasser Alseddik)

A displaced Yemeni boy sits on sacks of food aid in the Salah al-Din area on the outskirts of Aden, Yemen, Sunday, Oct. 25, 2026. (AP Photo/Abdulnasser Alseddik)

KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia (AP) — Asian Cup organizers released the kickoff times and finalized schedule Monday for the 2027 tournament in another move aimed at assuring continental soccer federations that planning is on track despite deadly recent attacks in Saudi Arabia by Yemen’s Iran-backed Houthi rebels.

The tournament is set to kickoff on Jan. 7 with Saudi Arabia against the Palestinian team in Group A starting at 8 p.m. local time in Riyadh.

Muhammed Q. Alghamdi, a spokesman for the organizing committee, told members at an Asian Football Confederation meeting in Tokyo last week that “daily life is ongoing in Saudi Arabia,” despite the regional hostilities and added: “Our job is to be ready, and we will be ready.”

The kickoff times and locations of matches in all six groups were confirmed Monday for the monthlong tournament that is scheduled to feature 24 teams playing matches in eight venues across three cites — Riyadh, Jeddah, and Khobar.

Iran is in Group C with Syria, China and Kyrgyzstan. The Iranian team is scheduled to open against China at 4:30 p.m. local time Saturday, Jan. 9 at the 26,000-seat Kingdom Arena in Riyadh. Australia opens its Group D campaign against Singapore earlier the same day in Khobar.

The final is set for Friday, Feb. 5 at the 72,000-seat King Fahd Sports City Stadium in Riyadh.

“The allocation of all venues and kick-off times in this finalized schedule factors in key commercial and broadcast requirements, as well as the local arrangements put in place to drive spectator attendance and enhance fan experience,” the Asian Football Confederation said in a statement.

There has been disruptions to the continental soccer club championship because of security concerns, and some scheduled international events have been canceled.

An AFC Champions League game between Cristiano Ronaldo ’s Al-Nassr and Uzbekistan’s Neftchi Fergana was delayed on Oct. 12 after Saudi Arabia’s Civil Defense issued a security alert.

Al-Nassr's home ACL game scheduled for Monday against Al-Wasl of the United Arab Emirates at the King Saud University Stadium in Riyadh was postponed “to a later date,” the AFC said.

“The new match date and kick off time will be confirmed and communicated in due course,” the confederation said in a statement.

Among other sports events that have been moved or canceled is the WTA Finals, the season-ending event in women’s tennis, was moved from Riyadh to Indian Wells, California.

A BMX cycling qualifying event in Saudi Arabia for the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics was also canceled by the International Cycling Union.

See AP’s full soccer coverage here

FILE - Asia Football Confederation President Salman Bin Ibrahim Al-Khalifa, left, poses with FIFA President Gianni Infantino during an inauguration ceremony for the new building of the Asia Football Confederation in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia Tuesday, Oct. 30, 2018. (AP Photo/Vincent Thian, File)