he said in a video statement. “You will suffer disproportionate blows far greater than you can imagine.”
Israel’s Channel 12 reported Sunday night that Netanyahu and his military chief of staff clashed over an instruction by Netanyahu to carry out an “action” that the army believes could quickly trigger a resumption of the conflict with Iran.
Netanyahu’s office later described the report as “fake news.”
In Tehran, when asked whether Iran was planning attacks, Baghaei on Monday said that “the Israeli regime is highly skilled at carrying out false-flag operations.”
“The Islamic Republic of Iran will not hesitate to exercise its inherent right to self-defense to protect Iran’s sovereignty, territorial integrity and independence,” he said.
Front in the Iran war widens
Yemen has become a widening front in the Iran war that began in February, with the Houthis increasingly launching attacks on Saudi Arabia because it supports Yemen’s internationally recognized government battling the rebels.
The conflict has intensified since forces from the internationally recognized government and Saudi-led coalition launched airstrikes on Houthi-held Sanaa International Airport in July, shattering a 2022 ceasefire deal that largely stopped the fighting in Yemen’s civil war.
Early Monday, Houthi military spokesperson Yahya Saree said that the rebel group had fired ballistic missiles at military gatherings and weapons depots belonging to Saudi-backed government forces in Aden and Lahj provinces. He said that the attacks destroyed military equipment and caused casualties, but didn’t provide evidence. The Associated Press couldn’t independently verify the information.
Houthi media said that airstrikes targeted a solar power system and a water well in Sanaa, but offered no proof. In the port city of Mokha, recently seized by the Houthis, residents said that rockets hit several buildings, including a hospital.
Doctors Without Borders, or Médecins Sans Frontières, said Monday that three strikes hit Mokha, one landing just 150 meters (nearly 500 feet) from Mokha General Hospital, where its teams work in maternity and pediatric wards.
The statement came after the Houthi-run Health Ministry accused Saudi-backed forces of targeting the hospital. The Saudi-backed forces haven’t commented.
All staff and patients were safe, MSF said, adding that the strike damaged the hospital building.
Days earlier, a missile struck near Aden’s airport as an MSF plane carrying humanitarian workers was preparing to take off, forcing staff to seek shelter instead of boarding, the organization said. Aden’s airport is the main entry point for humanitarian workers, supplies and medical equipment to the southern parts of Yemen.
Houthi-run al-Masirah channel also reported strikes in Saada, in northern Yemen, and in southwestern Taiz province, where the rebels and Saudi-backed government forces have been fighting for weeks.
The spokesperson for the Saudi-led coalition said that an operation in Houthi-controlled territory destroyed five tunnels used for storing ballistic missiles, four ballistic missile launchers and other missile storage.
Meanwhile, Egypt’s parliament on Monday approved a request from President Abdel-Fattah el-Sissi to provide military support to Saudi Arabia to help defend against Houthi attacks.
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