Saudi Arabia Issues Riyadh Air Alert as Iran Sends War Terms — SkimNews
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- Saudi Arabia issued its first Riyadh air alert since Houthi attacks escalated, with at least one explosion heard and smoke seen near the capital's airport; no casualties were reported and authorities declined to identify the trigger.
- Mohsen Rezaei, head of Iran's Supreme National Security Council, told Al Jazeera that Tehran sent Washington its conditions for ending the war via Qatar — including ending fighting on all fronts, releasing seized Iranian assets, ending the US naval blockade of Iranian ports, and ending Yemen-Saudi hostilities.
- CENTCOM head Adm. Brad Cooper said the US military supported transit of 1 billion barrels of oil through the Strait of Hormuz in two months and claimed Iran had 'exported zero barrels' under the blockade, though monitors said traffic remains well below prewar levels and Iran continues attacking ships.
- Iran executed Hossein Pedram after convicting him of spying for Israel's Mossad; state TV said he shared classified information on 'sensitive military sites' in Isfahan province, including missile bases targeted in last year's 12-day air war.
- Israel struck Hezbollah targets in southern Lebanon after two soldiers were wounded by an explosive device, and Gaza hospital officials said Israeli fire killed the son of the Health Ministry director general in the Jabaliya refugee camp.
- Iran's prosecutor's office filed charges against Tehran race organizers after women ran a 10km race without headscarves; the sports department said about 5% of participants violated the mandatory hair-covering rule.
- UNRWA said more than 280,000 Gaza children are now attending school in tents and heavily damaged classrooms, with the agency's education chief noting that 95% of the 182 fully-equipped schools it operated three years ago have since been lost.
Why it matters: The Riyadh alert shows Iranian-backed Houthis now threaten Saudi's capital while Tehran simultaneously opens a diplomatic back-channel demanding the US lift its naval blockade and release seized assets — a structural concession beyond the nuclear file. CENTCOM's claim that Iran 'exported zero barrels' confirms the blockade is biting, giving Washington leverage but raising the cost of a failed back-channel.
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