Live: Iranian official says no talks until Tehran’s conditions are met

The Houthi education ministry has accused Saudi Arabia “and its mercenaries” of targeting education sites in Taiz governorate, the Houthi-affiliated Almasirah media agency reported.

The ministry said targeting schools is “a criminal act that violates international law”.

More than 130 lawyers, former judges and legal academics have warned British Prime Minister Andy Burnham that sanctions announced last week by Foreign Secretary Ed Miliband against Israeli settlements fail to meet the UK’s obligations under international law.

In a six-page letter sent to Burnham on Tuesday, the lawyers welcome the government’s decision to act alongside Canada and France, but state that “the action covered in the recent announcement falls far short” of Britain’s obligations to opposeIsrael’s occupation of Palestinian territory under a 2024 International Court of Justice ruling.

As part of last week’s announcement, the UK declared that the Israeli occupation of Palestinian territory was illegal. Miliband told parliament that he agrees ethnic cleansing of Palestinians is taking place in the West Bank.

Read more: Over 130 lawyers warn UK sanctions on Israeli settlements don't go far enough

Oil should be flowing through Saudi Arabia's vital East-West Pipeline within days, US Energy Secretary Chris Wright told CNBC on Tuesday.

The kingdom was forced to temporarily close the oil pipeline after attacks originated from Iraq.

Iraqi Prime Minister Ali al-Zaidi said on Tuesday that he discussed selling oil to Europe during visits to France and Germany, as Baghdad seeks to diversify its export routes and reduce its reliance on the Strait of Hormuz.

During a press conference with German Chancellor Friedrich Merz in Berlin, Zaidi said "we want to expand and diversify our export routes".

He added that "Iraq cannot remain hostage to a single corridor" as recent events have demonstrated, referring to the Strait of Hormuz, which has been blockaded by Iran during the war.

Zaidi said that he had discussed oil exports to Europe with Merz and French President Emmanuel Macron, whom he met in Paris on Monday.

Oil loadings at Saudi Arabia's Red Sea port of Yanbu have been suspended, days after the world's biggest crude exporter closed its East-West pipeline due to an attack, shipping industry sources said on Tuesday. 

Saudi Aramco, which has increased use of the Yanbu terminal since the US war on Iran began on 28 February, declined to comment.

In a statement shared on Instagram, US rapper Macklemore confirmed that “Ed Sheeran and his team” had dropped him from the tour after he said “Free Palestine”.

The campaign to remove Macklemore from the tour was driven by billionaire Robert Kraft, owner of the New England Patriots and Gillette Stadium, who threatened to block Sheeran and his team from using his stadium.

Kraft also rallied other stadium owners across the country to stop the tour from proceeding.

“Ed told me that Kraft said I would not be allowed to perform in his stadium,” Macklemore wrote.

Read more: Pro-Israel billionaire Robert Kraft led campaign to drop Macklemore from Ed Sheeran tour

Britain, the United States and the Netherlands on Tuesday issued a joint cybersecurity advisory detailing spyware they say is used by Iranian state-linked actors to target dissidents, activists and journalists.

Britain's National Cyber Security Centre said Iranian state-linked cyber actors had used a spyware family known as "CHOSEN BRICK" to steal emails, messages and other sensitive information through "spear-phishing" campaigns on messaging platforms including WhatsApp and Telegram.

Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman and Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi called for free and secure navigation in the Red Sea during talks in Cairo on Tuesday, the Egyptian presidency said.

The two leaders "emphasised the importance of ensuring the freedom and security of maritime navigation" through the straits of Hormuz and Bab al-Mandab, the presidency said, adding that Sisi reaffirmed Egypt's support for measures taken by Riyadh "to protect its security and stability".

Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman arrived in Cairo on Tuesday ahead of meetings with Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi, Egyptian state-linked media said, as the kingdom reels from strikes by Yemen's Houthis.

The Saudi de facto ruler "arrived in Egypt on an official visit", reported Al-Qahera News, which is close to Egyptian intelligence services. Saudi Arabia's foreign ministry said Sisi received the crown prince for his "work visit".

Fighting which has flared between government forces and Iran-backed Houthis in Yemen has displaced more than 100,000 people inside the country, while thousands more have fled abroad, the United Nations said on Tuesday.

The UN refugee agency warned in a statement that "rapidly escalating hostilities along Yemen's western coast have displaced more than 100,000 people inside the country and forced thousands more to seek safety across the Bab al-Mandab Strait in Djibouti".

Palestinian citizens of Israel have begun daily protests against an outpost established by settlers from the occupied West Bank in the heart of a Palestinian-majority town in the Galilee.

A group of Israelis reportedly from the Tekoa settlement near Bethlehem set up tents on state land in Majd al-Krum, in northern Israel, on Friday.

The town is home mostly to Palestinian citizens of Israel.

The outpost was established after Israeli Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich announced an election campaign plan to “Judaise” the Negev and Galilee by bringing one million additional Jewish residents to the areas.

Smotrich said he wanted to extend the settlement “revolution” from the occupied West Bank to areas inside Israel, where most Palestinian citizens of Israel live.

Majd al-Krum’s local council said the outpost had emerged within “a dangerous political context” and warned that it was intended to create a new reality on the ground.

Izz al-Din Badran, an activist with Majd al-Krum’s popular committee, said residents discovered the outpost on Friday.

The committee subsequently called on residents to maintain an ongoing mobilisation to push the settlers out.

Read more: Palestinian citizens of Israel mobilise against settler outpost in Galilee

More than 130 lawyers, former judges and legal academics have warned British Prime Minister Andy Burnham that sanctions announced last week by Foreign Secretary Ed Miliband against Israeli settlements fail to meet the UK’s obligations under international law.

In a six-page letter sent to Burnham on Tuesday, the lawyers welcome the government’s decision to act alongside Canada and France, but state that “the action covered in the recent announcement falls far short” of Britain’s obligations to oppose Israel’s occupation of Palestinian territory under a 2024 International Court of Justice ruling.

As part of last week’s announcement, the UK declared that the Israeli occupation of Palestinian territory was illegal. Miliband told parliament that he agrees ethnic cleansing of Palestinians is taking place in the West Bank.

Government sources confirmed to MEE that Israeli settlements in the Golan Heights and in East Jerusalem will be also covered by the UK's new measures, as well as those in the occupied West Bank.

Eleven other countries - Canada, Denmark, Finland, France, Iceland, Ireland, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Spain and Sweden - joined the UK in supporting or ⁠considering sanctions on trade in goods with settlements.

Read more: Over 130 lawyers warn UK sanctions on Israeli settlements don't go far enough

Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan said on Tuesday that reciprocal attacks in the Gulf were impacting peace efforts to end the US-Iran war and called for them to immediately stop, adding Ankara also valued the stability of its neighbour Iran.

Speaking at a joint press conference with his Azerbaijani counterpart in Baku, Fidan also said freedom of passage should be allowed in the Strait of Hormuz and the pre-war status quo shoud be reinstated, adding Ankara was in touch with all involved parties to find a solution to the matter.

Reporting by Reuters

Yemeni government forces are continuing to target Houthi positions around the south-western Taiz province, Al Jazeera reports.

According to the report, warplanes launched air strikes targeting Houthi positions - including a missile launch platform at Taiz airport, and areas in the south of the city.

Al Jazeera reports that Houthi forces are gathering in several areas, with armed groups, vehicles and heavy weapons heading to the east of the city.

The government has launched a slew of air strikes targeting Houthi positions in Dhubab, Mokha and the west of Taiz.

On Tuesday morning, Houthi forces fired several artillery rounds towards government positions on the al-Kadeha front.

Earlier today, the Houthi-run al-Masirah TV reported that Saudi coalition strikes in Taiz killed at least three people, including two children.

Two others were wounded in the attacks. Meanwhile, the Saudi-led coalition in Yemen said that 13 civilians were injured in Houthi attacks targeting Saudi Arabia's cities of Khamis Mushait, Abha and Taif on Monday.

An Israeli drone attack in Gaza City has killed at least two people, Al Jazeera is reporting, citing a source from Gaza's emergency services.

Wafa reported today, citing medical sources, that Gaza's hospitals have received the bodies of three people, along with 27 other wounded in the last 24 hours.

This brings the overall toll of Palestinians killed by Israel in Gaza since October 2023 to 73,789, with another 174,798 wounded.