Iran: Foreign officials pay respects to Khamenei as funeral preparations under way

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The Saudi-led coalition in Yemen will respond firmly and with "unprecedented force" to any attempts to target the Kingdom, it said in a statement on Saturday.

The statement came hours after Yemen's Iran-aligned Houthis warned that they would target "Saudi airports and vital interests on land and sea" if the Saudis continued their violations of Yemeni airspace. 

Israeli far-right minister Itamar Ben-Gvir has cancelled a visit to the US, following reports of planned demonstrations by locals and human rights groups to arrest him.

The National Security Minister was due in New York for UN policing conference, according to Haaretz.

Ben-Gvir was supposed to lead a ministry delegation to the global summit next week, but officials decided against sending any representatives.

The death toll in Lebanon has risen to 4,301, the Lebanese health ministry, as Israel's attacks persist in the country despite a cesaefire.

Sine 2 March, when Lebanon was dragged into the wider Middle East conflict, 12,199 people have also been injured.

According to the National News Agency (NNA), an Israeli drone dropped a stun grenade in the town of Nabatieh al-Fawqa, before a second one was dropped.

An Israeli drone attack also targeted the town of Siddiqine in the Tyre district, injuring two people.

Syrian authorities said Friday that they had begun trying suspects over a wave of deadly violence that tore through the Druze-majority Suweida province last year.

The episode last July involved some of the worst internecine bloodshed the country had seen since the toppling of longtime ruler Bashar al-Assad in late 2024, and raised questions about the new government's stated commitment to ensuring the safety of all of multi-confessional Syria's communities.

The violence began with clashes between Druze factions and Bedouin fighters in the southern province, with security forces then intervening on the side of the Bedouins, along with other tribal groups.

In the end, more than 2,000 people were killed, including 789 Druze civilians, according to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights monitor. A committee formed by the Syrian government said it had documented the killing of 1,760 people.

The head of the investigative committee said in a statement published by the justice ministry that a court in Damascus had begun examining cases "in public sessions as of 1 July, with the defendants and their legal representatives present".

The statement added that the proceedings were meant to "establish the facts and hold accountable anyone proven responsible for any violations... regardless of their position or the side to which the acts are attributed".

It added that other people were still under investigation.

Government forces and their allies were accused at the time of executing civilians and other abuses.

The committee announced in March that it had drawn up "a list of suspects from the (ministries of) defence and interior, Druze factions and civilians -- including Bedouins and tribes -- for serious crimes and violations".

The same month, UN investigators said war crimes and crimes against humanity might have been committed in Suweida.

The United Nations Commission of Inquiry on Syria (COI) has been probing international law violations there since the start of the long civil war that devastated the country from 2011 until the overthrow of Assad.

The COI said it had documented "widespread executions, torture, gender-based violence and the burning of homes" in Suweida.

Several hundred people were already waiting on Friday evening outside the venue for the funeral of Iran's slain supreme leader Ali Khamenei ahead of its opening to the public the next morning, according to AFP journalists.

Khamenei will lie in state at the Grand Mosalla religious complex in Tehran until Monday, with doors scheduled to open at 6:00 am local time (0230 GMT). AFP journalists at the scene also saw a significant security presence and roadblocks on surrounding streets.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and US President Donald Trump spoke on Friday and agreed to meet "soon" in the United States, the premier's office said.

The conversation comes after the United States and Israel fought alongside each other in their military campaign against Iran, and also follows reports of tensions between the two leaders over efforts to end the war.

"The Prime Minister said in their conversation that the US is a guarantor of global freedom, and Israel greatly appreciates the close ties between nations," a statement from Netanyahu's office said.

"Prime Minister Netanyahu and President Trump agreed to meet soon in the US," it added.

During the conversation, Netanyahu also congratulated Trump on the 250th anniversary of the United States' independence, the statement said.

Washington is Israel's closest ally, but Trump has been publicly critical of Netanyahu in recent weeks after Israel's war with Hezbollah in Lebanon threatened peace talks with Iran.

Yemen's Houthis threatened on Friday Saudi airports and vital assets should Riyadh violate its airspace or attempt to attack it, as the rebels accused the kingdom of trying to stop an Iranian plane from landing.

The threats followed a time of relative calm between Saudi Arabia and the Iran-backed rebels, which did not target Gulf states during the Middle East war that saw Iran pummel its oil-rich neighbours.

"We warn the criminal Saudi enemy against repeating any attempt to violate our airspace or any aggression targeting our country," military spokesman Yahya Saree said in a video statement.

"Such actions will be met with a comprehensive response targeting its airports and vital interests on land and sea."

Saree said the rebels had thwarted an attempt by Saudi warplanes to infiltrate their airspace at 5:20 am (0220 GMT) in a bid "to prevent an Iranian civilian aircraft carrying more than 200 stranded, wounded and sick citizens from landing at Sanaa International Airport".

Houthi media earlier reported that the aircraft had headed back to Tehran carrying the Houthi delegation meant to attend the funeral of Iran's former supreme leader, killed in US-Israeli strikes that triggered the Middle East war.

The rebels said its fighters were ready for "any options" and that "their fingers are on the trigger to implement directives aimed at breaking the Saudi-American siege", without providing further details.

The renewed threats came months after the Saudi-backed government and the Houthis had agreed to their largest prisoner exchange, confirmed in May, which includes seven Saudi nationals.

The Houthis have been at war with the government since 2015 in a conflict that has killed hundreds of thousands of people and triggered a major humanitarian crisis in Yemen.

The Houthi rebels control Yemen's capital Sanaa and much of the north, including most population centres, while the internationally-recognised government holds much of the south.

The fighting between the two sides has largely been frozen since a UN-negotiated truce in 2022.

Israeli forces and settlers have carried out a series of attacks against Palestinians in the West Bank on Friday, as violence in the occupied territory remains ongoing.

Several Palestinians suffered from tear gas inhalation after Israeli forces raided the village of Abu Njeim, near Bethlehem, in an incident which saw troops confront Palestinian worshippers leaving a mosque after Friday prayers.

Israeli soldiers threw stun grenades and fired tear gas at them.

Three other Palestinians were injured in village of Beitillu, northwest of Ramallah, after Israeli settlers attacked them.

The people were assaulted were members of the same family - the Radwans.

Settlers also attacked residents in the village of Abu Falah in Turmus Ayya, injuring several including international activists.

Iranian media has reported that Saudi Deputy Foreign Minister Waleed Elkhereiji and an accompanying delegation has offered condolences for the late Iranian Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.

Preparations for Khamenei's funeral are underway in Iran with millions expected to attend, including delegations and representatives from several nations.

Syria's health ministry said on Friday the death toll from a bomb attack at a Damascus cafe the previous day had risen to 10, with 21 people wounded.

The bombing -- the deadliest since a suicide attack on a church last year -- was not immediately claimed.

It took place near the capital's Palace of Justice, a key government building, sparking scenes of panic in the busy area.

Authorities said it was caused by an explosive device planted at the scene. The homemade bomb weighed about one kilogramme and was packed with metal fragments.

The health ministry had previously said nine people were killed and 20 wounded.

Since the toppling of longtime ruler Bashar al-Assad in December 2024, Syria's new authorities led by President Ahmed al-Sharaa have sought to exercise full control, restore security and reunify the country.

Damascus has been the site of multiple attacks and incidents since the new authorities took over.

The deadliest came in June 2025, when an attack on a Damascus church killed 25 people.

The suicide attack was later claimed by a Sunni Islamist group, while the authorities blamed it on the Islamic State group.

More recently, there have been other incidents, including the killing in May of a soldier in a car bombing in Damascus's Old City.