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The Iran-backed Houthis are pushing to seize strategic heights in Yemen and cut off the Red Sea coast from remaining areas held by Saudi-backed forces.
The Houthis continued with their lightning advance after US president Donald Trump reportedly called off American strikes on the group at the last minute.
The New York Times reported that the Trump administration had prepared to launch airstrikes against the Houthis on Sunday, after receiving fresh pleas from the Saudi crown prince.
However, Trump called off the airstrikes at the last minute, even as troops were loading bombs onto aircraft, according to the report.
Rashid al-Alimi, the Riyadh-based president of Yemen’s Saudi-backed, internationally-recognised government, asked Trump by phone on Sunday for US military help, four sources told Reuters.
Riyadh was apparently struck on Saturday for the first time since the escalation began, with explosions heard and smoke visible near the airport. The Houthis said they had fired missiles at the Saudi capital; the Saudis have not commented.
Meanwhile, Iranian president Masoud Pezeshkian was on his way to New York for the UN General Assembly, just days after Donald Trump threatened to “blow the entire nation up”, referring to Iran.
Saudi civil defence says danger has passed in Najran area following alert
A potential danger has passed in Saudi Arabia’s Najran region, civil defence said on Tuesday after an earlier alert was issued, amid ongoing hostilities between the kingdom and Yemen’s Iran-backed Houthis.
Maira Butt22 September 2026 08:52
Analysis: What to expect as Xi Jinping skips UN General Assembly to meet Trump instead
Analysts say the gesture is an indication of how seriously Trump is taking this visit, and of the dramatic transformation in China’s stature on the world stage since Xi’s last visit to Washington over a decade ago, when he had to wait for his chance to meet then-president Barack Obama at a nuclear security summit.
Maira Butt22 September 2026 08:31
Iranian foreign ministry blames US for rising fuel prices
Iranian foreign ministry spokesperson Esmaeil Baghaei has criticised US officials for blaming Tehran for rising global fuel prices, while drawing parallels between America and Nazi Germany.
Baghaei, in a post on X, wrote: “US officials blame Iran for rising fuel prices, as if the public’s memory is short enough to forget who actually initiated the war of aggression, and whose actions created the crisis that led to the closure of the Strait of Hormuz and the disruption of commercial shipping.
“This isn’t a new trick, though. In 1939, Hitler similarly framed his invasion of Poland as a defensive action,” he added.
Alisha Rahaman Sarkar22 September 2026 07:40
Trump will use UNGA to paint himself as the world’s peacemaker even as he stokes war in Iran
The President faces a tough sell to convince the world’s leaders that he and the US are on the right side of history amid a week of foreign policy-focused events in New York and Washington, writes Andrew Feinberg.
Alisha Rahaman Sarkar22 September 2026 07:20
Binance under US scrutiny over possible Iran sanctions violation
US federal prosecutors are investigating whether Binance violated sanctions on Iran by failing to prevent certain trading activity on its platform, Bloomberg News reported.
The probe is being led by the Manhattan US attorney’s office, with the justice department’s criminal division in Washington also involved, according to the report.
Binance said in a statement that it has a zero-tolerance approach to sanctions violations.
It added: “We fully cooperate with law enforcement, and we remain committed to rooting out and shutting down bad actors.”
Alisha Rahaman Sarkar22 September 2026 07:00
Displaced Yemenis take shelter at a makeshift camp in Taiz province
A displaced woman sits outside her tent at a makeshift camp for people displaced by clashes between Iran-aligned Houthi fighters and Saudi-backed Yemeni government forces, in Taiz province, Yemen (Reuters)
A displaced woman holds a child at a makeshift camp for people displaced by clashes between Iran-aligned Houthi fighters and Saudi-backed Yemeni government forces, in Taiz province, Yemen September 21, 2026 (Reuters)
Alisha Rahaman Sarkar22 September 2026 06:40
Araghchi speaks to UN chief after landing in New York
Iranian foreign minister Abbas Araghchi held a phone call with UN secretary-general Antonio Guterres after arriving in New York.
The Iranian minister and the secretary-general discussed the UN General Assembly agenda and efforts to advance international peace and security, Tasnim news agency reported.
Araghchi will address the General Assembly in New York.
Alisha Rahaman Sarkar22 September 2026 06:20
Iranian minister lands in New York to defend ‘rights of Iranian people’
Iranian foreign minister Abbas Araghchi has arrived in New York to address the United Nations General Assembly.
Araghchi said the purpose of his visit was to “defend the righteousness, rights and interests of the Iranian people”.
“Every year we have used this opportunity to set out the rightful positions of the Islamic Republic of Iran — our well-known stances — and to defend the rights of the Iranian people,” he added.
Alisha Rahaman Sarkar22 September 2026 06:00
Gaza students return to schools for first time in three years
Hundreds of thousands of Gaza children returned to in-person instruction on Saturday for the first time in nearly three years, gathering inside damaged buildings, makeshift structures, and tents despite severe shortages that have made basic pens, notebooks, and uniforms unaffordable.
The United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) reported that 98 percent of Gaza’s schools were destroyed or damaged during the war, leaving an estimated 660,000 students without regular, face-to-face education, according to local education officials.
Alisha Rahaman Sarkar22 September 2026 05:40
G7 ministers call on Iran to stop arming Houthis
G7 foreign ministers have called on Iran to end its arming and support of Houthis in Yemen, which they said constituted a dangerous pattern of escalation that risked undermining international trade and creating global instability.
“We condemn in the strongest terms the unacceptable continued strikes carried out by the Houthis in Yemen and against the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia,” the ministers of Britain, Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan and the US said in a statement.
“We call on the Houthis to immediately cease all military actions, all threats and attacks against civilian shipping, and to return to the political process in good faith.”
Alisha Rahaman Sarkar22 September 2026 05:10