Middle East conflict: US vessel targeted by Iran near Salalah

Tehran: Iran's military said Saturday that it had targeted a US logistics vessel near the Omani port of Salalah.

"A logistics vessel supporting the aggressive US army was targeted by the armed forces of the Islamic Republic of Iran at a considerable distance from the port of Salalah in Oman," Ebrahim Zolfaghari, a spokesman for Iran's central military command, said in a statement carried by state TV.

Iranian-backed Houthi rebels have claimed responsibility for a missile attack on Israel.

Brig. Gen. Yahya Saree, a military spokesman for the Houthis, issued a statement on Saturday on the rebel group’s Al-Masirah satellite television network.

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Israel’s military had earlier said it had intercepted a missile.

The attack came after Saree signalled in a vague statement on Friday that the rebels would join the war that has shocked the region and rattled the global economy.

It is the first time Israel has faced fire from Yemen since the start of the conflict last month. Houthi attacks on vessels during the Israel-Hamas war upended shipping in the Red Sea.

Before the attack from Yemen, there appeared to be a breakthrough as Tehran agreed to allow humanitarian aid and agricultural shipments through the Strait of Hormuz.

Bahrain, which hosts the U.S. 5th Fleet, said Saturday its air defence systems have responded to 20 missiles and 23 drone attacks in the past 24 hours.

That brings the total number of projectiles fired at the Shiite majority country to 174 missiles and 385 drones since the start of the war in the Middle East on Feb. 28.

UAE authorities said fires broke out at an industrial zone following a missile and drone attack from Iran, leaving five people with injuries.

The United Arab Emirates' defence ministry said air defences were responding to incoming cruise missiles and drones fired by Iran.