Oil tankers attacked in Hormuz, smoke seen near Aramco facility in Riyadh

Iraq's Oil Tankers Company transported 2 million barrels of Iraqi crude aboard a very large crude carrier (VLCC) through the Strait of Hormuz, its director general said in a statement, describing it as the company's first such operation in decades.

 Iran's rial continued its decline on Saturday, as the central bank announced an injection of up to $2 billion to support the currency while the economy faces US sanctions and a naval blockade.

The US dollar was sold around 2.688 million rials, up from 2.632 million on Friday, according to free-market tracking website bon-bast.com, while alanchand.com reported 2.695 million rials per dollar.

State television said state banks began selling up to $2 billion to support the currency, which has lost more than half of its value in the past year.

With an inflation rate of more than 70%, life is becoming ever tougher for ordinary citizens unable to afford basic necessities or rent ​as a US blockade cuts the state's financial lifeline – oil exports.

Many Iranians seeking safe havens for their savings have been buying dollars, other hard currencies or gold.

Mehdi Darabi, an aide to the central bank's governor on foreign exchange affairs, blamed the decline of the rial partly on what he said were false predictions by US officials of the collapse of the Iranian economy.

"It is suggested that the Iranian economy is about to crash... The enemy is using this to affect the exchange rate of our currency," Darabi told state TV, adding that the current fall of the rial was temporary.

Iraq's Najaf International Airport will resume flights to and from Iran from Sunday, with three evening flights scheduled, Iraq's state news agency cited the airport as saying on Saturday.

Iraq said on Friday a US waiver would allow Iranian airlines to operate up to 40 daily flights to and from Najaf, excluding Mahan Air.

Yemen's Houthis claimed an attack against an Aramco site in the Saudi capital of Riyadh on Saturday, the group's media said.

Houthi military spokesman Yahya Saree said they targeted the site with ballistic missiles and drones. Earlier in the day, an AFP journalist reported smoke and flames rising from a facility belonging to the oil giant south of Riyadh.

The Israeli military claimed on Saturday that a deadly strike in Gaza, which local officials said killed five people, was an attempt to kill Hamas's top leader in the territory, Ali al-Amoudi.

"The strike was carried out while the terrorist was in an apartment used by the Hamas terrorist organization for terror activities," the military said, without specifying whether or not he was killed, and without providing evidence he was there.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Saturday invited to Israel as a guest of honour the Indian captain of a Tel Aviv-bound flydubai flight who saved the plane by opening the cockpit after being attacked.

"You are a true hero of the brave peoples of India and Israel and you are a hero of the entire world," Netanyahu said in a video his office released of his telephone conversation with Captain Smit Machchhar.

It is not yet clear if the captain has accepted the  invite to Israel, which is facing scrutiny over its genocide in Gaza.

Dozens of Egyptian journalists staged a sit-in in Cairo on Saturday, calling for the release of six reporters detained earlier this week in what rights groups say is the most serious blow to independent media in years.

The detained journalists made up the entire newsroom of Matsadaash, an independent media platform known for fact-checking and investigative reporting.

Journalists gathered at the Egyptian Journalists Syndicate, whose general assembly declared itself in permanent session and announced an open-ended sit-in at the syndicate's headquarters until its council meets on Monday to decide on further action.

"The danger is not limited to these journalists. It affects all independent journalists," local journalist Mostafa Bassiouny told AFP at the sit-in.

"There is a real threat to the already very narrow spaces for independent journalism," he said.

Security forces arrested the six journalists in raids across several Egyptian governorates between Monday and Tuesday, according to rights groups and the outlet's management.

Lawyers and rights advocates say the journalists were held without their whereabouts being immediately disclosed to families or legal representatives.

Ireland's press conference ahead of its Nations League game against Israel abruptly ended Saturday when a journalist asked coach Heimir Hallgrimsson about alleged racism by Irish players during last week's match between the teams.

Ireland defeated Israel 3-0 last Sunday but only after Irish players took a vote on whether or not to go ahead with the game, due to bitter opposition in Ireland over Israel’s genocide in Gaza.

On Saturday, an Israeli journalist alleged that Irish players made racist comments, which prompted an immediate rebuke from Football Association of Ireland communications manager Kieran Crowley: “That's completely untrue.” The press conference was then ended.

Sunday's game — Ireland is the “home” team — is being held in Backa Topola, Serbia, without any fans present.

The FAI moved the game to an neutral venue for “operational reasons” in June following widespread calls in Ireland for a boycott. It also followed the FAI’s own motion the previous November calling on UEFA to ban Israel from club and international competitions.

The FAI has resisted calls for a boycott, arguing the team could be hit with sanctions by UEFA. Ireland is co-hosting the 2028 European Championship with England, Wales and Scotland.

Last Sunday's game was held in Debrecen, Hungary, where Irish players wore black armbands. The FAI was investigating whether Ireland forward Adam Idah was racially abused during the match. A small number of Israel supporters had attended.

On Thursday, Ireland's game against Austria in Dublin was briefly interrupted by protesters throwing tennis balls bearing Palestinian flags.

Yemen's Houthis accused Saudi Arabia of launching dozens of strikes on Sanaa on Saturday, while an AFP journalist in Riyadh reported seeing flames and smoke coming from an oil facility on the outskirts of the Saudi capital.

Though Saudi officials and the Houthis have not yet commented on the refinery fire, the Iran-backed group has in recent weeks launched attacks on oil facilities in the kingdom as part of the war in Yemen where Riyadh backs the internationally recognised government.

The foes have traded strikes since the Houthis seized all of Yemen's Red Sea coast and took control of the Bab al-Mandab strait in a lightning offensive.

Houthi-affiliated channel Al-Masirah TV reported that "Saudi enemy aircraft" hit Sanaa with 26 strikes, after earlier reporting "Saudi aggression" against the Yemeni capital, without providing details on the targets or casualties.

Two correspondents in Sanaa reported hearing loud explosions and seeing warplanes firing missiles on the city.

The International Energy Agency said Saturday that member countries had so far released 325 million barrels of oil and oil-derivative products from strategic reserves, from 400 million barrels promised in March.

The update came a day after G7 countries, in coordination with the IEA, agreed to immediately release 100 million barrels of diesel and crude oil to ease global energy supply concerns caused by fallout from the US-Iran war.

The G7 did not say whether the 100 million barrels included the outstanding 75 million barrels from the March IEA commitment, or came on top of that.

An Israeli airstrike killed at least five Palestinians in an apartment building in Gaza City early on Saturday, health and civil defense service officials said.

Loud explosions were heard in the Yemeni capital of Sanaa on Saturday, as the Houthis reported airstrikes in the area by Saudi forces.

One correspondent heard at least five blasts in different areas, while another saw two warplanes firing missiles on the city.

Al-Masirah TV, a Houthi-affiliated media outlet, reported "Saudi aggression" against the capital, without providing details on the targets or casualties.

The channel had also earlier on Saturday reported missile strikes on the telecommunications network in the northwestern governorate of Saada, a Houthi stronghold.

A large plume of smoke and fire was seen rising in the vicinity of an Aramco facility in Riyadh on Saturday, a witness told Reuters.

There was no immediate confirmation from Saudi authorities about the fire. Aramco did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

The fire comes amid escalating hostilities between Saudi Arabia and Yemen's Iran-aligned Houthis, who have stepped up attacks on Saudi cities and energy infrastructure.

There was no immediate claim of responsibility for Saturday's fire.

The Houthis said last week they had attacked Saudi Aramco facilities in Yanbu with missiles and drones. Saudi Arabia said at the time that it had intercepted six ballistic missiles fired by the Houthis towards Taif and the Yanbu area, but did not report damage to Aramco facilities.

A dual U.K.-Iranian national was released on bail after arrest in security incident at a U.S.-run air base in England.

Iran said Saturday it had executed a man convicted of a raft of charges including firing a military-grade weapon at police officers during anti-government protests earlier this year.

Siavash Jamshidi was accused of targeting security personnel during mass demonstrations that peaked in January in which thousands of people were killed.

Since that time, Iranian authorities have stepped up executions of convicts linked to the unrest.

"Jamshidi was sentenced to death on charges of moharebeh through brandishing and firing a firearm, as well as conspiracy and collusion against national security," Iran's judiciary said, using the legal term moharebeh to mean "waging war against God".

The United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations (UKMTO) Centre reported on Saturday that it had received a report of a maritime incident four nautical miles east of Oman. UKMTO quoted the captain of a crude oil tanker as saying that the vessel had been struck by an unidentified projectile on its port side. The agency added that all crew members were safe and that no environmental impact had been reported.

The co-pilot of flydubai flight FZ1073 attempted to carry out a "terrorist" attack during the flight, the United Arab Emirates prosecutor general said on Saturday, according to the state news agency WAM.

The co-pilot was identified as Hammam al-Hammami, an Omani national, a source with direct knowledge of the matter told Reuters. UAE authorities did not immediately respond to a request for confirmation of his identity.

The co-pilot attacked the pilot inside the cockpit with a crash axe and attempted to take control of the aircraft, the prosecutor general said.