Houthis say they won’t attack US vessels in Red Sea, and other Mideast developments

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.

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

The Associated Press