Houthi leader calls US, Israel ‘source of evil, instability in world’

• Iran will 'neutralise US interventions in the region', says army spokesperson

 SANAA: The leader of Yemen’s Houthi rebels, Sayyed Abdul-Malik Al Houthi, has accused the US and Israel of fueling global instability, while blaming the Saudi leadership for advancing US and Israeli objectives in the region in a televised address.

According to a report by Al Jazeera, al-Houthi said that “the United States and Israel are the source of evil and instability in the world.”

He added that the US, Israel and their allies “fuel instability through warmongering and the plundering of the wealth of nations, from Palestine to other regions”.

Al Houthi also said that Israel’s aim of changing the map of the Middle East to create a “Greater Israel” is the “driving force behind all the wars in the region”. 🔴 Leader of Yemen's Ansarullah Movement Abdul Malik Al-Houthi delivers speech 🔺 Al-Houthi: If the oppressed do not seek justice, tyrants will continue their oppression unchecked 🔺 Al-Houthi: Zionists are worst of tyrants 🔺 Zionists show no respect for humanity pic.twitter.com/E8VVNwwmEy — Press TV 🔻 (@PressTV) July 16, 2026

“This axis has no respect for international agreements and United Nations resolutions, but also boasts of genocide against nations and the destruction of civilisations,” Al Houthi added.

He alleged that Saudi Arabia’s attacks on Yemen were ongoing for years, had no legal justification, and were “carried out within the framework of alignment and loyalty to the United States and Israel”.

US VP Vance slams Israeli effort to thwart peace talks with Iran

US Vice President JD Vance said some members of the Israeli government had tried to influence US public opinion to oppose a deal by the US to end the war with Iran, in a podcast episode with host Joe Rogan posted on Wednesday.

JUST IN: KUWAIT SAY AIR DEFENSE IS CURRENTLY ACTIVE AGAINST DRONES pic.twitter.com/s5rmv2LvEW

— Sulaiman Ahmed (@ShaykhSulaiman) July 16, 2026

The comments echoed earlier criticism of Israeli government policy by Vance, whom many view as a potential future presidential candidate, in a widening public rift between the two countries. "You have seen this very discreet, extremely well-funded campaign to try to derail the negotiation and try to derail the deal,” he said.

“A bunch of people who have quite literally been paid by a former Trump campaign person who was himself paid by certain elements within the Israeli government. And those people are attacking me viciously,” he added.

Vance defended a deal reached last month to end the war with Iran, which critics in the US and Israel have slammed for failing to curb Iran's missile program and providing no clear path to dismantling its nuclear facilities, while constraining Israel in its war with ⁠Hezbollah militants in Lebanon.

Shahid Baqaei Hospital, a children's cancer treatment centre in Ahvaz, was evacuated last night after the US attacked a nearby location.

This barbaric attack, reminiscent of Israel’s atrocities against healthcare facilities, caused severe suffering and anxiety upon the… pic.twitter.com/xv3W7SY2X9

— Esmaeil Baqaei (@IRIMFA_SPOX) July 16, 2026

"I know beyond a shadow of a doubt that there have been people within the Israeli government who are trying to, like, actually shift us away from that policy because they want to continue the military campaign," Vance said.

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The vice president said that, while he has "good relationships" with some members of the Israeli government, "there are some people within their system that we know beyond a shadow of a doubt that are manipulating and trying to change American public opinion to keep the war going on indefinitely".

He said that many countries, allies and adversaries try to influence American policy and that "it doesn't bother me that Israel tries to do this, ⁠it frankly doesn't even bother me that Russia or some of these other countries do it". He said it was "just the nature of being a political leader in 2026".

"What does bother me is when those operations, those influence campaigns, actually affect American political judgment," said the vice president.

Vance lashed out at Israeli critics of the Iran deal in June, saying President Donald ⁠Trump is Israel's only ally, in a sharp rebuke that referenced the billions in US defence aid the country receives.

Israeli senior officials, speaking anonymously, have said the deal's terms were bad for Israel because they failed to address concerns over Iran's nuclear ⁠and ballistic missile program, a view they say is shared across Israel's leadership.

When asked if he thought the US would have engaged in the most recent war with Iran were it not for Israeli influence, he said, "yes, ⁠yes I do." "I think the president, separate from any influence from Israel, believes very strongly, and again I agree with this, that Iran should not have a nuclear weapon," he added.

The Israeli Prime Minister's Office did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

'Barbaric attack': Baghaei condemns US strike near children's cancer hospital in southwestern Iran

Iran condemned the United States' “barbaric attack” on a cancer hospital in Iran’s southwest after it was forced to evacuate because of nearby heavy air strikes.

“This barbaric attack – reminiscent of Israel’s atrocities against healthcare facilities – caused severe suffering and anxiety upon the hospitalised children,” Iran's Foreign Ministry spokesman Esmaeil Baghaei posted on X.

He said that the attack “ caused severe suffering and anxiety upon the hospitalized children, and forced the emergency evacuation of 211 patients undergoing chemotherapy".

"This constitutes a cowardly war crime against the most innocent of human beings — children who are bravely fighting for their lives."

In a separate interview with Press TV, he further said the US aggression against the country was a "blatant violation" of international law and the MoU signed between the two parties.

When asked about any further room for diplomacy, Baghaei said that "we are focused on defending our territory, our national security and we have to continue as long as it takes."

"This is a crime of aggression that is committed by the US against Iran, and our armed forces have resolutely responded to these attacks. They are determined to continue defending our sovereignty and territorial integrity."

There was no immediate US response for the strikes.

Kuwait military responding to new Iranian drone attacks

Kuwaiti air defences are confronted attacks by “hostile drones” as strikes on the US’s Gulf allies continued on Thursday.

“The General Staff of the Army notes that any explosion sounds heard are the result of air defence systems intercepting the hostile attacks,” the military said in a statement on X, denouncing “the sinful Iranian aggression”.

“Everyone is requested to adhere to the security and safety instructions issued by the competent authorities,” it added.

Iran will 'neutralise US interventions in the region', says army spokesperson

Iran said on Thursday that the Strait of Hormuz was an inviolable "red line", warning that if US President Donald Trump carried out his threat to attack Iran's infrastructure, it would strike all infrastructure across the Gulf region.

Spokesperson for the Islamic Republic of Iran Army Brigadier General Mohammad Akaminia, stresed Iran's definitive strategy in controlling the Strait of Hormuz, and said: "We will undoubtedly resist until the end and will neutralize US' interventions in the region." pic.twitter.com/wOBJtiY6qj

— IRNA News Agency ☫ (@IrnaEnglish) July 16, 2026

The US launched a fifth night of attacks on Wednesday and reimposed a naval blockade of Iran's ports, which Washington says is aimed at reopening the Strait of Hormuz, closed by Iran last Saturday after a fragile truce collapsed.

Spokesperson for the Iranian army Brigadier General Mohammad Akaminia stressed over Iran's strategy in controlling the Strait of Hormuz, and said that "We will undoubtedly resist until the end and will neutralise the US' interventions in the region," according to IRNA on.

The news outlet stated on its X account that the US "miscalculated" that striking certain bases would allow it to take control of the strait, and asserted that Iran can enforce its "dominance" over the strait "regardless of coastlines or islands".

Akraminia said that the Strait of Hormuz, which carried about a fifth of global oil and gas shipments before the war, was a "red line" for Iran over which it maintains firm control.

"The Islamic Republic of Iran has the ability to exert control over the Strait of Hormuz from every single point of its territory, and this matter is never dependent on coasts and islands."

 Israel tells Pentagon chief it will keep troops in occupied ‘security zones’

Defence Minister Israel Katz told US counterpart Pete Hegseth that Israel will keep its forces in “security zones” carved out inside Lebanon, Syria, and the Gaza Strip, according to Al Jazeera.

In a statement, Katz’s office said the two men spoke overnight and the minister “emphasised Israel’s determination to remain in the security zones in Syria, Gaza, and Lebanon in order to protect Israel’s borders and communities”.

The conversation comes despite a US official saying the staunch allies made progress on a plan for Israel to withdraw from “pilot zones” in southern Lebanon, following two-day US-mediated diplomatic talks between Lebanon and Israel in Italy that ended on Wednesday.

Sites in western Iran come under attack amid US escalation, no casualties reported

Several sites in Kabudarahang County in western Iran's Hamadan province came under attack early Thursday amid a new wave of US strikes, with no casualties reported, Iran's Fars News Agency said, citing a local official.

Hamzeh Amraei, political and security deputy at the Hamadan Governor-General's Office, said all provincial and county emergency and relief agencies were on full alert and prepared to respond to any emergency.

The attack followed the latest wave of US strikes on Iran announced by the US Central Command (CENTCOM) hours earlier.

Iran trades strikes with the US

IRIB reported on the specific US assets targeted during strikes on the Sheikh Isa Air base in Bahrain.

US Army Super Hawk radars, facilities, and Patriot systems were targeted using Arash suicide drones.

Additionally, IRIB reported that Iranian air defence systems shot down a US MQ-9A Reaper drone over the city of Andimeshk in the Khuzestan Province.

Drones downed over Iraq's Erbil: Kurdish forces

The US-led coalition shot down several drones on Wednesday over Erbil, the capital of Iraq's northern Kurdistan region, Kurdish forces said.

AFP journalists reported seeing several drones hovering over Erbil, before being hit by air defences, resulting in explosions and visible smoke near the US consulate, which was a target of repeated drone and rocket attacks during the Middle East war.

These are the first reported drone attacks near the consulate in Erbil since a fragile ceasefire began in April.

Kurdish counterterrorism forces said that "coalition forces downed and destroyed eight explosive-laden drones over Erbil between 8:53 and 9:20 PM (10:53pm and 11:20pm PKT)".

No group has claimed responsibility for any attacks, and no casualties were reported.

They coincide with Iraqi Prime Minister Ali al-Zaidi's one-week visit to Washington, where he met Trump, and also come against the backdrop of renewed military escalation between the United States and Iran.

During the Middle East war, the Kurdistan region, which hosts US troops and numerous foreign oil companies, was a primary target for drone attacks, carried out mostly by pro-Iran Iraqi armed groups.

Those groups, operating under the umbrella of the Islamic Resistance in Iraq, targeted US facilities in Iraq more than 600 times in support of Tehran.

Zaidi has given pro-Iran armed groups, which Washington designates as terrorist organisations, until September 30 to disarm, coinciding with the end of the US-led coalition's mission.

While some armed groups have said they would cooperate, others remain firm in their refusal to disarm, instead vowing to strengthen their capacities.

Since the start of the war, and even after the ceasefire, Iran has also repeatedly struck Iranian Kurdish rebel groups, which have camps and bases in Iraq's Kurdistan.