Saudi Arabia warned of a “hostile aerial threat” and issued a string of emergency alerts across the kingdom, including in its capital, late Friday and early Saturday.
asserted
Arabia → warn → capital
Also Saturday, Iran’s state TV reported that a man was executed after being convicted on charges of spying for Israel’s intelligence agency Mossad.
asserted
man → report → agency
Alerts sound across Saudi Arabia for aerial threat
Saudi Arabia warned of a “hostile aerial threat” after issuing emergency alerts, and at least one explosion was heard in Riyadh.
asserted
explosion → sound → Riyadh
The alert in Riyadh was the first for the Saudi capital since the latest escalation with Yemen’s Iran-backed Houthi rebels.
asserted
alert → back → rebels
No casualties or damage were reported after the alerts were lifted.
asserted
alerts → report → ?
Saudi authorities didn’t say what prompted the alerts or the cause of the audible explosions, but they previously reported intercepting incoming Houthi missiles and drones.
asserted
they → say → missiles
UN Security Council condemns Houthi missile attacks
asserted
Council → condemn → attacks
The U.N.’s most powerful body said late Friday that the Houthis’ military escalation, attacks and threats “risk further expanding the conflict, threatening maritime security and international trade,” while undermining regional and international efforts to secure peace in Yemen.
asserted
escalation → say → Yemen
It warned that continued escalation would exacerbate the already dire humanitarian situation in the country.
asserted
escalation → warn → country
The council’s 15 members called for “practical cooperation” to prevent the Iran-backed Houthis from acquiring arms, military training, financing and other military-related assistance needed to carry out their attacks.
asserted
members → call → attacks
They stressed that all countries must enforce the U.N. arms embargo against the rebel group.
asserted
countries → stress → group
Iran executes man accused of spying for Israel
Iran’s state TV reported on Saturday that a man identified as Hossein Pedram was executed after being convicted on charges of spying for Israel’s intelligence agency Mossad.
asserted
man → execute → agency
The report said Pedram passed on to Israel classified information on “sensitive military sites” in Iran’s Isfahan province.
asserted
Pedram → say → province
It didn’t say how he accessed the classified information.
asserted
he → say → information
Pedram was reportedly arrested after those sites, which included missile bases, were targeted in the 12-day air war by the U.S. and Israel against Iran in June last year.
uncertain
which → arrest → June
A recent surge of executions in Iran prompted an international outcry by human rights groups.
asserted
surge → prompt → groups
Israeli strikes kill 2 men in Gaza
Gaza’s Health Ministry and Shifa Hospital officials said one man was killed in the Shijaiyah neighborhood of Gaza City.
asserted
man → kill → City
Another man, identified as the son of the ministry’s director general, was killed as he walked in the Jabaliya refugee camp in northern Gaza.
asserted
he → identify → Gaza
The Israeli military did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the strikes.
asserted
military → respond → strikes
The heaviest fighting between Israel and Hamas has subsided since a ceasefire took effect last October, but Israeli fire has killed more than 13,780 Palestinians in Gaza since then, according to health officials in the territory.
uncertain
fire → subside → territory
Pakistani, Iranian foreign ministers talk energy supply, shipping safety
Pakistan’s Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar discussed uninterrupted energy supplies and safe passage for commercial ships during a telephone call Saturday with his Iranian counterpart Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi.
asserted
Dar → talk → counterpart
Pakistan’s Foreign Ministry said in a statement that Dar underscored the importance of ensuring that ships pass safely and quickly, citing the potential effects of disruptions on developing countries and global supply chains.
asserted
ships → say → countries
The statement did not provide details of Araghchi’s response.
asserted
statement → provide → response
Pakistan has faced rising energy prices as the tensions spiked, increasing pressure on Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif’s government.
asserted
tensions → face → government
An Islamist party has threatened to march on the capital, Islamabad, unless the government lowers fuel prices.
asserted
government → threaten → prices
Iran files charges against race manager for allowing women to run without headscarves
Iran’s state TV reported Saturday that the Tehran prosecutor’s office filed charges against race organizers after women participated without covering their hair because “legal and Islamic Sharia” wasn’t observed.
asserted
Sharia → file → hair
The country’s ruling theocracy requires women to wear scarves that cover their hair and loose-fitting clothes that hide their entire bodies.
asserted
that → rule → bodies
Footage circulated online showing many women running the 10-kilometer (6-mile) race without the mandatory hair covering.
asserted
women → circulate → covering
Habib Sotoudehnejad, head of Tehran’s sports department, said Saturday that about 5% of participants violated race rules.
asserted
% → say → rules
The race was run separately for men and women.
asserted
race → run → men
Hard liners in Iran seek harsh penalties against women who appear in public without covering their hair.
asserted
who → seek → hair
Turkey pulls license of Iranian bank suspected of Revolutionary Guard links
Turkey’s banking watchdog, the Banking Regulation and Supervision Agency, revoked the operating license for the Istanbul branch of Iran’s Bank Mellat.
The agency said Saturday that it made the decision to protect depositors or the stability of the Turkey’s financial system.
asserted
it → pull → system
The announcement comes as the United States is demanding other countries tighten economic measures against Iran.
asserted
countries → come → Iran
Bank Mellat has been subject to Western sanctions for years and was named in 2019 as having links to the paramilitary Revolutionary Guard Corps.
asserted
Mellat → name → Corps
The U.S. Treasury Department earlier this month imposed sanctions on a Turkish investment bank and two subsidiaries over alleged ties to Iran.
asserted
Department → impose → Iran
___
This report will be updated throughout the day as new developments emerge.
asserted
developments → update → day
The Aporia
