Iran’s Revolutionary Guard says it has lifted a self-imposed limit of 2,000 kilometres (1,200 miles) on the range of its ballistic missiles, suggesting the country may seek to develop missiles capable of reaching more distant targets as fears of renewed all-out war rise. Meanwhile, airstrikes near Yemen’s capital killed at least 27 people, according to a spokesman for Yemen’s Houthi-run Health Ministry. In Israel, the president tapped opposition candidate Gadi Eisenkot to form a government, in a post-election setback for Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. Here is the latest news from the Middle East on Saturday. Iran’s Revolutionary Guard lifts its missile-range limit The comments by the spokesman of Iran’s paramilitary Revolutionary Guard came days after the country’s supreme leader, Ayatollah Mojtaba Khomeini, warned that “any kind and level of threat” from the U.S. or Israel would face a response without geographic limits. Asked at a Tehran news conference about the limit on missile ranges, Gen. Hossein Mohebbi said, “That restriction has been lifted for us.” He did not say whether Iran had missiles capable of exceeding the limit, saying only Iran would “demonstrate these capabilities in practice” rather than make statements. Iran is not known to have missiles that can go beyond the 2,000-kilometre (1,200-mile) limit — a range that puts parts of Greece and the Balkans, the entire Arabian Peninsula, the Levant and most of Egypt within reach. However, U.S. officials have said technology from Iran’s space program can be repurposed to build intercontinental ballistic missiles. The Iranian military, meanwhile, said a tanker east of the Strait of Hormuz had hit a mine and caught fire. It did not identify the tanker’s flag or destination. It said the vessel had turned off its navigational beacon and was sailing in a “prohibited area.” Iran media report explosions on Qeshm Island Iran state media reported on Saturday evening the sound of two explosions on Qeshm Island in the Strait of Hormuz, as well as several explosions in the port of Jask, east of the strategically vital waterway for oil shipments. It wasn’t immediately clear what the cause of the explosions was. U.S. Central Command didn’t immediately respond to an AP request for comment. U.S. President Donald Trump said Friday that the U.S. military had carried out new limited strikes against Iran, targeting an Iranian air defense system. Trump described the military action to reporters as “minor.” Houthis say airstrikes kill more than 2 dozen people near Yemen’s capital Airstrikes in a village near Yemen’s capital, Sanaa, killed at least 27 people and wounded 36 others, mostly women and children, on Saturday, said Anees al-Asbahi, a spokesman for Yemen’s Houthi-run Health Ministry. The Associated Press could not independently verify the claims. The Houthi spokesman accused Saudi Arabia, whose Information Ministry did not immediately reply to an AP request for comment. Since the summer, fighting has escalated between the Iranian-backed Houthis — who control Sanaa, the north and the west of the country — and their Saudi-backed opponents based in the south and east. Israel’s president taps opposition leader to form new government Israeli President Isaac Herzog said Saturday night that he was giving opposition candidate Gadi Eisenkot the first opportunity to form a new government following elections on Oct. 27. Eisenkot, a former military chief, ran as the main challenger to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, leading a bloc of parties seeking to oust Israel’s longest-serving premier. With neither his nor Netanyahu’s bloc winning a majority in parliament, the task to negotiate a coalition remains challenging in the deeply divided country reeling from the Oct. 7, 2023, Hamas-led attacks and the three years of wars that have followed in Gaza and beyond. Rains mark return of winter misery for Gaza’s Palestinians In the Gaza Strip, displaced families spent a sleepless night as heavy rain flooded their fragile tents, soaking mattresses and belongings, and turning camp pathways into pools of muddy water. The rain marks the start of another difficult winter for the more than 1.6 million Palestinians living in tents or other makeshift shelters in the territory, where nearly the entire population has lost its homes during Israel’s campaign triggered by the Oct. 7, 2023, Hamas-led attacks. Majed Al-Omari, who lost a limb during the war, struggled to make his way between tents on crutches after the rains tore down the wooden frame and plastic sheeting of his shelter. “We will have to sleep in the street tonight, or find somewhere else to stay,” he said. The UN humanitarian office has said 294,250 families need shelter assistance for the rainy season, but available supplies are enough to provide only partial assistance to 18 per cent of those in need. It said a lack of funds, slow procurement procedures and delayed approvals by the Israeli authorities mean additional supplies may not reach Palestinians until more than halfway through winter. Midterms suggest frustration with Israel among U.S. Democrats and Republicans The results of the U.S. midterm elections suggest that long-standing U.S. support for Israel is on rocky ground on both sides of the aisle. Democrats, who gained control of Congress, are fiercely divided, and many Republicans are increasingly critical of Israel’s government, particularly its wartime conduct in Gaza. On Tuesday, as Americans went to the polls, U.S. President Donald Trump suggested cutting off aid to Israel. Then, a staunch critic of Israel, Abdul El-Sayed, became the first Muslim elected to the U.S. Senate. The Democratic senator-elect from Michigan addressed U.S. Vice President JD Vance as “JD, habibi” — a common Arabic term of affection — in his victory speech. And Vance partly blamed the Republicans’ massive electoral losses across the country on U.S.-Israel relations, including the war in Iran the two countries launched jointly on Feb. 28. “Something fundamental has shifted,” said Michael Oren, a historian and former Israeli ambassador to the U.S. U.S. says its blockade on Iranian port continues, announces new task force U.S. Central Command said Saturday that “strict enforcement” of the U.S. blockade on Iranian ports in the Strait of Hormuz continues. It also announced a new task force focusing on hampering Iran’s options to transport what it called “advanced weapons and other materials” through its land borders and the Caspian Sea. Iran established a chokehold on the strait, a vital strategic waterway in global trade, at the beginning of the war, and has claimed attacks on tankers. The U.S. says its blockade had redirected 144 commercial vessels through the end of October. ___ This report will be updated throughout the day as new developments emerge. The Associated Press
