Yemeni army ------- seizes strategic heights
in Lahij overlooking Bab al-Mandab Strait
September 18th, 6:38pm
(PressTV)
Yemeni Armed Forces have seized strategic heights in
the southwestern province of Lahij overlooking the
Bab al-Mandab Strait, advancing against Saudi-
backed mercenary forces in the area.
The forces took control of Mount al-Aghbarah in the
al-Madaribah wa al-Arah district following fierce
clashes with Saudi-sponsored militias,
Yemeni sources said on Friday.
This comes.. as Saudi F-15 fighter jets have carried
out 37 airstrikes on civilian areas across Yemen’s
southern province of Ta’izz and the northern
province of Hajjah - over the past 24 hours
killing and wounding numerous civilians.
Spokesman for the Yemeni Armed Forces, Brigadier General
Yahya Saree, said the Saudi warplanes took off from King
Khalid Air Base near the city of Khamis Mushait, situated
about 884 kilometres south of the Saudi capital, Riyadh,
to carry out the airstrikes.
Yemeni Armed Forces have recently announced their control
over Perim Island, also known as Mayyun Island in Arabic,
strengthening their strategic position around the Bab
al-Mandab Strait, a vital maritime route - linking
the Red Sea with the Gulf of Aden.
the Red Sea with the Gulf of Aden.
The takeover of Perim Island, which sits at the heart of the Bab
al-Mandab Strait and provides a strategic vantage point over
the waterway, has placed the entire maritime passage...
under the control of forces operating from Sana’a.
However, Sana'a has stressed that passage through the strait is
only restricted for Saudi vessels ---- in response to 12 years of
the illegal Saudi siege on its southern neighbour.
Recent events unfold amidst escalating tensions along Yemen’s
western coastline ---- where Yemeni forces and Saudi-backed
mercenaries have engaged in confrontations over crucial
coastal areas and strategic locations.
The latest advances... have shifted the balance of power on the
western front - as Saudi-backed militias lose ground, prompting
Riyadh to intensify its airstrikes against Yemeni positions and
infrastructure ...in an apparent effort to halt their losses.
____________________________________________________________
Yemenis hold rally in Sa'ada
in support of armed forces
after lightning advances
September 18th, 11:16am
(PressTV)
This screengrab, taken from live video footage on
September 18, 2026, shows thousands of
Yemenis taking part in a demonstration
in Sa’ada to voice support for the
Yemeni Armed Forces.
Yemenis have taken to the streets across the country’s
northwestern Sa’ada province in a show of support
for the country’s armed forces, who are defending
the nation against the illegal Saudi aggression
and blockade.
They took part in the march on Friday upon a call by
the leader of the Ansarullah resistance movement,
Abdul-Malik al-Houthi, to reaffirm their backing
for the Yemeni troops.
The rally was organized under the theme "support
for the armed forces and the equation of
blockade for blockade."
Situated near the Saudi Arabian border... and seen
as one of Ansarullah's main strongholds, Sa’ada
province ------ has frequently been targeted in
Saudi aerial assaults over the past years.
For more than a decade, Yemen has been gripped by conflict
involving Ansarullah, as well as rival militants supported
separately by Saudi Arabia and the UAE.
Saudi Arabia also waged a devastating war on Yemen in March
2015, but it failed to reinstall a Riyadh-friendly regime there.
In 2022, the kingdom agreed to a ceasefire with
Ansarullah, but maintained its land, sea,
and air blockade of the country.
In recent days, Yemen has launched operations in response to
Saudi Arabia’s airstrikes, as well as its siege of the country
for almost 12 years.
It has managed to push back Saudi-backed militants and take
control of the port city of Mokha on the Red Sea coast,
along with the strategically important Kahboub area.
The advances significantly strengthen the Yemeni army’s control
over the Bab el-Mandeb Strait, a strategic maritime passage
between the Red Sea and the Gulf of Aden through which,
about 12% of the world’s oil and other goods are shipped.
Sana'a has also announced a reciprocal blockade on
Saudi Arabia, noting that Saudi vessels cannot pass
through the Strait and the Red Sea.
_____________________________________
Gharibabadi: US cannot - evade responsibility
for war crimes by leaving UN rights council
September 18th, 11:16am
(PressTV)
Iran’s Deputy Foreign Minister for Legal and International Affairs
Kazem Gharibabadi says the US cannot evade responsibility
for war crimes in Iran by withdrawing from the UN Human
Rights Council.
In a post on X on Friday, Gharibabadi said the international
community now recognizes ...that the US strikes on a
school in Minab and a sports complex in Lamerd
are “clear war crimes,” rather than
operational mistakes.
“History will not forget,” Gharibabadi wrote, referring to the February
28 attack on the Shajareh Tayyebeh Primary School in the southern
city of Minab, where 168 people were killed, many of them children.
He also referred to the strike on a sports complex in
Lamerd, in Fars province, which also killed civilians.
The Iranian official added that “the United States cannot escape
responsibility by withdrawing from the Human Rights Council.”
Gharibabadi’s remarks came after US State Department announced
on Thursday.... that Washington had ended its membership
and participation in the council, accusing the body of
promoting what it called “anti-American rhetoric”
...and adopting an ''overly accommodating''
approach to governments it accused
of repressing their populations.
and participation in the council, accusing the body of
promoting what it called “anti-American rhetoric”
...and adopting an ''overly accommodating''
approach to governments it accused
of repressing their populations.
The withdrawal followed the publication of a report by the
Independent International Fact-Finding Mission on Iran,
which examined US conduct during the war on the
country that began on February 28, 2026.
The UN-backed mission said it had “reasonable grounds” to believe
that US forces were responsible for two indiscriminate attacks on
civilians and civilian infrastructure that amounted to war crimes.
One of the incidents involved a Tomahawk missile
strike on the Shajareh Tayyebeh Primary School.
The mission said the school was a clearly identifiable civilian
facility and found no evidence that it was being used for
military purposes when it was attacked.
Investigators said features including school signs, child-
oriented murals and playground areas clearly identified
it as an educational facility.
The mission concluded that the United States had failed to
take all feasible measures, to verify that the site was a
military objective before launching the attack, and
said the circumstances indicated conduct going
beyond mere negligence.
The second incident examined by the mission occurred in Lamerd,
where a US strike on a sports complex and nearby residential
area killed 22 civilians and damaged civilian buildings.
The investigators said the use of precision-strike missiles that
dispersed tungsten pellets resulted in an indiscriminate
attack and constituted a war crime.
The report is to be presented to the UN Human Rights Council.
A US official cited by The New York Times confirmed that the
missile used in the attack was the PrSM and...... that the
weapon was being tested in combat for the first time.
Airwars, weapons experts and journalists analyzing verified video
and the pattern of destruction found characteristics consistent
with the missile, including an airburst ....and the dispersal of
large numbers of high-speed tungsten pellets.
The analysis found that civilians were killed as far as
50 metres from the points of detonation ....and that
the damage extended substantially further.