The United Arab Emirates on Friday blamed Iran for attacks on two vessels linked to its state-owned oil company as they passed through the Strait of Hormuz a day earlier.

Iran has imposed an effective blockade of the strait, frequently attacking commercial ships, and wants to charge users for passage, which the U.S. fiercely opposes.

A British company said Thursday it has been hired to salvage a grounded Russian shadow fleet tanker off Oman's coast and stop an oil spill that is threatening wildlife as it reaches the country's shoreline following its dramatic spread in recent weeks.

Satellite images have shown that oil from the tanker Caroline Bezengi has exponentially spread over hundreds of square kilometers during stormy weather, endangering a marine protected area. The region's "Khareef" monsoon season peaks in July and August.

Crew members of a Yemeni commercial ship who survived a deadly attack by Houthi rebels earlier this week said a second missile struck the vessel just as rescue efforts from the initial strike were underway, causing even more chaos and casualties.

In all, three ballistic missiles fired by the Iran-backed Houthis struck the ship in the Bab el-Mandeb Strait, just off Yemen's coast, as it was coming into port, killing six people and injuring at least nine others, according to Yemeni authorities.

Sister Mayela wears her black veil and habit as she walks to work near where another Catholic nun was violently attacked in Jerusalem's Old City — but she's now accompanied by a Jewish volunteer for protection.

Many Christians in Israel, who make up less than 2% of the country's population, are worried visible signs of their faith will draw harassment, which has increased as multiple conflicts grip the region.

Lebanon has formally abolished the death penalty, going against the grain in a region where Iran and Saudi Arabia are reportedly the second- and third-biggest executors globally, after China.

Here's a look at which countries in the Middle East and North Africa top the list of executioners, which have a moratorium on applying the death penalty, and whether others might follow Lebanon's example.

Libya has, within the span of a single day, had a senior intelligence official killed in a car bomb in the east and suffered drone attacks on a major oil refinery near Tripoli in the west.

Kuwait has arrested three Islamic State group members accused of plotting attacks on a Shia mosque as well as "vital facilities", a security source told AFP.

At least one government soldier was killed and another critically wounded in clashes between Houthi rebels and the military in the mountainous province of Taiz, Yemeni military officials told The Associated Press.

The fighting came as part of a spate of recent attacks by the Houthis on government-held areas across the country. Dozens of government troops have been killed in attacks since last week, the Yemeni military said.

A senior Iranian official said on Thursday that the Strait of Hormuz remains under the control of the Islamic republic after President Donald Trump claimed U.S. control over the strategic waterway.

"Today, you see that the Strait of Hormuz is under the management and control of the Islamic republic, and our country continues on its path in complete security," said Hossein Taeb, head of the paramilitary Basij forces affiliated with Iran's Revolutionary Guards, according to state television.

The U.S. ambassador to Israel, a staunch supporter of West Bank settlements, on Thursday denounced as "terror" a siege by settlers against Palestinians that drew an unsuccessful intervention by the army.

Settlers near Nablus since Sunday have blockaded Palestinian homes, including one owned by a U.S. citizen, with residents saying they have been cut off from food and other supplies.