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.
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.
Here is the latest news from the Middle East on Friday. Full coverage is available here
.Saudi Arabia warned of a “hostile aerial threat”
after issuing a string of emergency alerts across the kingdom late Friday and early Saturday, and at least one explosion was heard in the capital, Riyadh.
The alert heard in Riyadh was first for the Saudi capital since the latest escalation with Yemen's Iran-backed Houthi rebels.
No casualties or damage were reported after the alerts were lifted. 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.
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.
It was warned that continued escalation would exacerbate the already dire humanitarian situation in the 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. They stressed that all countries must enforce the U.N. arms embargo against the rebel group.
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.
The report said Pedram passed on to Israel classified information on “sensitive military sites” in Iran's Isfahan province. It didn't say how he accessed the classified 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.
A recent surge of executions in Iran prompted an international outcry by human rights groups.
___
This piece will be updated throughout the day as new developments emerge.
