Iranian-backed Houthi rebels in Yemen attacked the government-held port city of Mokha on the Red Sea coast and other areas of the country, deepening fears over threats to strategic shipping routes and a potential return to civil war.

Yemen's military said the rebels targeted both Mokha and the central province of Marib with missiles and drones but did not provide further details.

President Donald Trump likes to say that he started his war with Iran after 50 years of economic pressure had failed to stop its nuclear weapons ambitions — but he's now betting that another financial squeeze can bring an end to that war.

The Trump administration is hoping that months of bombing have pushed Iran's economy to a breaking point that will force its leadership to cave to demands to end its nuclear program and fully reopen the Strait of Hormuz to oil and natural gas tankers.

Syria said that it reached a deal with Russia on the fate of its two bases in the country, which Moscow once used to provide military support to ousted leader Bashar al-Assad during the Syrian civil war.

Russia was a key Assad ally during the 13-year conflict, helping to keep the former leader in power, and his ouster in 2024 dealt a major blow to its influence in the region.

Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian recently met with supreme leader Ayatollah Mojtaba Khamenei, who has not appeared in public since assuming the post early in the Middle East war, Khamenei's office said Sunday.

The former commander in chief of Iran's Revolutionary Guards, Mohsen Rezaei, has been named head of the country's highest national security body, the Iranian presidency announced.

A first group of Syrian Kurds were headed for the northeastern border town of Ras al-Ain on Monday following years of displacement, months after an integration deal between the Kurds and Damascus.

The January agreement on merging Kurdish forces and civil institutions into the state included the return of displaced Kurds but residents of Ras al-Ain had still been waiting, prompting appeals to authorities for assistance.

Tehran on Monday said Iranians had shown "they are professional chess players" in response to remarks by U.S. President Donald Trump comparing his dealings with Iran to the board game.

Trump on Sunday signaled he was prepared to let economic pressure mount against Iran, apparently backing away from more military strikes after Tehran issued a list of demands for opening the Strait of Hormuz.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Sunday rejected a U.S.-led Gaza plan endorsed by Hamas, putting distance between himself and President Donald Trump as he tries to shore up his base ahead of close elections.

Iran's foreign ministry said Monday that a defense pact signed last week between Saudi Arabia, Turkey and Pakistan was "a sign of a change in the perception" of countries in the region towards the United States.

Iran set preconditions on Saturday for a reopening of the Strait of Hormuz, including compensation for war damages, complicating a potential deal to open the waterway essential to the world economy.