Iran-backed Houthis enter war with missile strike against Israel

• Houthis launch missile: Yemen’s Iran-backed Houthi rebels said they carried out the “first military operation” in support of Iran , after Israel’s military earlier said it detected a missile from Yemen .

• Latest strikes: Israel attacked Iranian nuclear sites and industrial plants after threatening to “escalate and expand” strikes on Tehran. Elsewhere, in the Gulf, falling debris caused fires at an industrial hub in the United Arab Emirates, authorities said, and a drone attack damaged the radar system at Kuwait International Airport.

• Death toll climbs: Three people, including a Lebanese journalist working for a Hezbollah-owned network, have been killed in an Israeli strike in Lebanon . Thousands have been reported killed across the Middle East since the start of the war one month ago.

• Talks continue: Pakistan’s prime minister held a one-hour call earlier with Iran’s president as the country continues to act as an intermediary in talks between Tehran and Washington.

Satellite imagery shows smoke rising from Saudi Arabia’s Prince Sultan Air Base, as a US official said at least 10 US service members were wounded in an Iranian attack on the facility.

No service members were killed but at least two had shrapnel wounds considered not life threatening, and several other service members were “impacted,” another US official said.

A refueler tanker aircraft was also damaged, according to the first source.

CNN’s Kristen Holmes, Natasha Bertrand and Haley Britzky contributed reporting to this post.

A Lebanese reporter working for a Hezbollah-owned network was among three journalists killed in an Israeli strike in Lebanon.

Hezbollah-owned Al Manar television said its journalist Ali Shuaib was killed in an Israeli strike targeting the vehicle he was in.

The Israeli military accused Shuaib of being “a terrorist” operating under the “guise of a journalist” who was “exposing” locations of Israeli soldiers in southern Lebanon.

Al-Manar called Shuaib an “icon of resistance media” in its report announcing his death.

Two other journalists, Fatma and Mohamed Ftouni were also killed in the Israeli strike, the pro-Iran and Hezbollah Al Mayadeen channel said, with the Lebanese presidency calling the attack a “blatant crime.”

“Once again, the Israeli aggression is violating the most basic rules of international laws and international humanitarian law and the laws of war, by targeting press reporters, who are ultimately civilians performing a professional duty,” the presidency posted on X.

The Israeli statement did not mention the other two journalists killed.

Israel is carrying out an escalating offensive against the Iran-allied Hezbollah militant group in southern Lebanon. The accusation against Shuaib echoes allegations Israel has made against Palestinian journalists killed working in Gaza.

Ukraine has signed a new defense agreement with Qatar today, mirroring the one it signed with Saudi Arabia yesterday as Gulf nations seek to harness Kyiv’s expertise in drone warfare.

The agreement includes “collaboration in technological fields, development of joint projects, defense investments, and the exchange of expertise in countering missiles and unmanned aerial systems,” a statement from Qatar’s foreign ministry said.

Zelensky has also visited Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates the past few days, sharing his country’s knowledge of intercepting swarms of Iranian-designed, Russian-made Shahed drones, honed over four years of war with Russia.

Such drones, which have long targeted Ukraine, are now being deployed by Iran to attack its Gulf neighbors.

It has now been exactly a month since the US and Israel launched the war with Iran, sparking a conflict that has engulfed the Middle East. It has killed thousands, according to a CNN tally of death tolls released by regional authorities.

Here’s what those authorities have said the number of people reportedly killed in the Middle East since the war began on February 28. CNN is not able to independently verify these numbers.

Dozens of people have also been killed in other countries in the region since the conflict began. Deaths because of the conflict have been reported in the United Arab Emirates, Qatar, Kuwait, the occupied West Bank, Oman, Bahrain and Saudi Arabia since February 28, according to local authorities.

CNN’s Issy Ronald, Charbel Mallo, Aqeel Najim, Nechirvan Mando, Mohammed Tawfeeq, Dana Karni, Eugenia Yosef, Oren Liebermann, Tal Shalev, Tamar Michaelis, and Zachary Cohen contributed to this reporting.

The USS Gerald R. Ford aircraft carrier has anchored in Port of Split, Croatia, the US Navy announced today.

Before its arrival in Split, the Ford was undergoing repairs in the US Navy’s base in Crete, Greece, after a fire broke out in the ship’s laundry area on March 12. The fire was not combat-related, the US military said at the time. The aircraft carrier had been participating in US operations against Iran before the fire.

The Ford, which is the US Navy’s most advanced aircraft carrier, was sent to the Middle East in February to apply more pressure on Iran. It was previously deployed to the Caribbean as part of the US military’s buildup in the region amid heightened tensions with Venezuela.

CNN’s Haley Britzky contributed to this post.

The Conservative Political Action Conference, or CPAC, is in full swing in Texas.

Inside however, reactions to the Iran war are mixed. CNN Senior Correspondent Donie O’Sullivan reports below.

Iranian president Masoud Pezeshkian has thanked Pakistan for its efforts to stop the war as the country continues to act as an intermediary in talks between Tehran and Washington.

According to a statement from his office, Pezeshkian in an earlier phone call with Pakistan’s Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif offered his thanks for “the support and solidarity of the Muslim people of Pakistan with Iran.”

Talks to end the US-Israeli war are ongoing, with Pakistan acting as an intermediary to relay messages between the warring sides. A senior Pakistani source told CNN earlier Saturday that Sharif had held a one-hour phone call with Pezeshkian.

Pezeshkian also offered his appreciation for “the commendable efforts of some friendly and neighboring countries, including Pakistan, to stop the imposed war.”

For his part, Sharif reiterated Pakistan’s stance of condemning the military action against Iran, particularly recent Israeli attacks on Iran’s economic infrastructure in the cities of Ahvaz and Isfahan, the statement said.

In a post on X earlier today, Pezeshkian said Tehran will “retaliate strongly” if the country’s infrastructure and economy are targeted.

In a message he aimed at “countries of the region,” he added: “If you want development and security, don’t let our enemies run the war from your lands.”

Israel launched a large-scale attack against Iranian nuclear sites and industrial plants after threatening to “escalate and expand” its strikes against Tehran, with both sides showing little sign of restraint even with diplomatic efforts underway.

Israel struck two steel plants Friday night, including one in Iran’s southwestern Khuzestan province that uses radioactive material, the United Nations’ nuclear watchdog said, while a heavy water plant in Arak, which includes key production sites for plutonium, was also hit. The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) reported no radiation risks.

One person was killed in the Israeli strike on the steel complex in Isfahan, according to Iranian media, while two large electric power plants supplying the plant were also damaged.

And Iran’s atomic agency said a factory in Yazd province that produces ‘yellowcake’, a concentrated powder form of uranium used in nuclear fuel, was targeted, but added that there was no “release of radioactive materials outside the facility.”

Iran’s vow: Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said Iran will “exact a heavy price” following the strikes. Earlier this week local media listed a host of key regional sites – including desalination plants and a UAE nuclear station – as possible targets.

Tehran last week launched a barrage on Dimona, an Israeli city near a clandestine nuclear facility, and has repeatedly targeted civilian infrastructure across the region, including firing drones that caused extensive damage to airports and energy facilities in Gulf Arab states.

Countries in the Gulf continue to intercept attacks, one month into the war in the Middle East.

Here’s what we’re seeing in the region so far this morning:

United Arab Emirates: Falling debris from an intercepted ballistic missile caused three fires near Khalifa Economic Zones Abu Dhabi, an industrial hub between Abu Dhabi and Dubai, authorities said. Six people were injured, according to the Abu Dhabi Media Office . So far today, the UAE has engaged 20 ballistic missiles and 37 drones launched from Iran, the country’s defense ministry said in a statement.

Oman: Drones targeted the port of Salalah , the Oman News Agency reported today. One foreign worker was injured and a crane was damaged in the incident.

Saudi Arabia: The Ministry of Defense said it had intercepted and destroyed a ballistic missile launched towards the capital Riyadh.

Bahrain: The country’s civil defense put out a fire in a facility targeted by Iran, Bahrain’s interior ministry said early today.

Kuwait: A drone attack targeting Kuwait International Airport damaged its radar system, reported Kuwait News Agency, which also said the country’s National Guard downed six drones in the past 24 hours.

This post has been updated with additional developments.

We’ve been reporting this morning on the announcement by the Iran-backed Houthi rebel movement that it had launched ballistic missiles against Israel on Saturday, marking its entry into the war.

Attacks on commercial ships in the Middle East this month have all but closed the vital Strait of Hormuz to tankers, upending the oil market and sending producers in of other routes to get their fuel to buyers around the world.

One of the few alternatives goes through the Red Sea. Saudi Aramco, the world’s top oil producer, said it would reroute millions of barrels of crude via a pipeline running to Saudi Arabia’s western port of Yanbu in the Red Sea.

The number of daily oil loadings at the port has already more than doubled this month compared with the daily average last year, according to data from Kpler, a trade data and analytics company. But now even that lifeline is at risk.

In late 2023, Iran-backed Houthi militants began attacking vessels in the Red Sea in retaliation for Israel’s war against Hamas. The security situation forced shipping companies to redirect their vessels around the southern tip of Africa, adding weeks onto journeys and forcing them to spend more on fuel, insurance and seafarers’ wages.

The current regional conflict and “the continued hostile posture of Houthi forces toward commercial shipping” mean that the threat level in the Red Sea is “substantial,” the United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations Centre said in an advisory earlier this month, before the Houthis made their announcement.

It has now been a month since the US and Israel began strikes on Iran, launching a conflict that has been swirling in the region ever since.

Today, the Iran-backed Houthi rebel group said it launched missiles from Yemen toward Israel for the first time since the war began.

If you’re just joining us today, catch up on the latest developments below:

CNN’s Eugenia Yosef, Ross Adkin, Rhea Mogul, Nadeen Ebrahim, Ibrahim Dahman, Sophia Saifi and Gul Tuysuz contributed to this reporting.

These are the latest images we’re seeing today following Iranian missile strikes on Tel Aviv, Israel and after Israeli airstrikes on south Lebanon.

The Houthis’ entry into the Middle East conflict may put the region’s oil exports and shipping at even greater risk.

The Strait of Hormuz has been effectively closed for a month. The Houthis can threaten another critical chokepoint - the Bab al-Mandab Strait connecting the Red Sea and the Indian Ocean.

The Bab al-Mandab translates as Gate of Tears, because of its challenging . It is 29 kilometers (18 miles) across at its narrowest point.

More than 30 million tonnes of natural gas passed through the Strait in the first 11 months of 2023, as well as vast amounts of container traffic and 12% of total seaborne-traded oil, according to the US Energy Information Agency.

But the Houthis then began targeting merchant ships in the Red Sea after Israel launched military action in Gaza following the October 7 attacks. More than 100 ships were struck before the Houthis declared a pause in attacks last November.

Those attacks forced hundreds of vessels to reroute around the Cape of Good Hope, lengthening voyage times – and cost.

An Iranian source told the country’s semi-official Tasnim News warned that if US forces tried to reopen the Strait of Hormuz, “they should be careful not to add another strait to their challenges … Iran is fully prepared to escalate the situation.”

Since traffic through Hormuz was severely curtailed, Saudi Arabia has begun re-routing its oil exports to the port of Yanbu on its west coast through a pipeline that is capable of handling 7 million barrels a day. Tanker traffic in the Red Sea has spiked as a result.

Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif held a one-hour call with Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian, a senior Pakistani source told CNN.

The call comes one day prior to a meeting of the foreign ministers of several regional powers, including Turkey, Egypt, Saudi Arabia, and Pakistan, scheduled to take place in Islamabad.

“During the visit, the foreign ministers will hold in-depth discussions on a range of issues, including efforts to de-escalate tensions in the region,” a statement from the Pakistani foreign ministry said earlier.

During the call, Sharif condemned Israeli strikes against Iran, reiterated Pakistan’s “solidarity” with Tehran, and detailed the “diplomatic outreach” undertaken by the Pakistani government, according to a statement issued by his office.

Pezeshkian responded by stressing “the need to build trust in order to facilitate talks and mediation,” while acknowledging Pakistan’s efforts, the statement added.

This post has been updated with additional information.

A young boy tenderly kisses his newborn sibling at an improvised shelter in Beirut, Lebanon. Nearby, an elderly woman cuddles her two new grandchildren swaddled in fluffy blankets.

Video published by Reuters on Friday showed families and midwives gathered at an improvised shelter in the Lebanese capital – where Israeli bombs have laid waste to entire neighborhoods, triggered mass displacement and depleted the healthcare system.

One woman recalled the psychological shock of being unable to give birth with her doctor after she was displaced by the military campaign. Another warned that newborn babies are unable to access adequate medication at sprawling displacement centers.

At least 620,000 women and girls, including those from Lebanese, Palestinian and Syrian communities, have been forced to flee their homes, the UN women’s agency reported Friday.

Women are skipping meals so their children can eat, the UN Women representative in Lebanon, Gielan El Messiri, reported Friday . Older women are unable to access medication for chronic health conditions, said El Messiri.

One 64-year-old woman in the south recalled nervously stepping outside her after a wave of bombing to find collapsed houses lining her street in Majdal Zoun.

Iran has the upper hand in the Strait of Hormuz in part because of its unconventional warfare methods, including cheap drones and sea mines.

Islamabad’s foreign affairs ministry confirmed it will host a quadrilateral meeting of foreign ministers from Turkey, Egypt and Saudi Arabia to regional developments, including the US-Iran war.

The foreign ministers of Saudi Arabia, Egypt and Turkey will visit Islamabad from Sunday to Monday, Pakistan’s foreign affairs ministry said.

“During the visit, the Foreign Ministers will hold in-depth discussions on a range of issues, including efforts to de-escalate tensions in the region,” it said.

Turkish foreign minister Hakan Fidan said there were plans to initially host the talks in Turkey, in an interview with private broadcaster AHaber.

“But since our Pakistani brother had to stay in his country, we shifted it to Pakistan,” Fidan said during the interview.

Pakistan has emerged as a key intermediary in the current bout of diplomacy between the US and Iran, delivering a 15-point plan peace plan proposed by Washington to Iran.

Yemen’s Iran-backed Houthis on Saturday announced that they fired missiles at Israel as they entered the widening conflict in the Middle East. The Israeli military had earlier said it detected a missile from Yemen.

The Houthi movement, also known as Ansar Allah (Supporters of God), is one side of the Yemeni civil war. It emerged in the 1990s, when its leader, Hussein al-Houthi, launched “Believing Youth,” a religious revival movement for a centuries-old subsect of Shia Islam called Zaidism.

The Zaidis ruled Yemen for centuries but were marginalized under the Sunni regime that came to power after the 1962 civil war. Al-Houthi’s movement was founded to represent Zaidis and resist radical Sunnism, particularly Wahhabi ideas from Saudi Arabia. His closest followers became known as Houthis.

Yemen’s civil war began in 2014, when Houthi forces stormed the capital Sanaa and toppled the internationally recognized and Saudi-backed government. The conflict spiraled into a wider war in 2015 when a Saudi-led coalition intervened in an attempt to beat back the Houthis.

A ceasefire was signed in 2022, but it lapsed just after six months. Warring parties have not, however, returned to full-scale conflict.

The Houthis are backed by Iran, which began increasing its aid to the group in 2014 as the civil war escalated and as its rivalry with Saudi Arabia intensified. Iran has provided the group with weapons and technology for, among other things, sea mines, ballistic and cruise missiles, and unmanned aerial vehicles, according to a 2021 report from the Center for Strategic and International Studies.

The Houthis form part of Iran’s so-called “Axis of Resistance” - an anti-Israel and anti-Western alliance of regional militias backed by the Islamic Republic.

American officials have been tracking iterative improvements in the range, accuracy and lethality of the Houthis’ domestically produced missiles. Initially, -grown Houthi weapons were largely assembled with Iranian components smuggled into Yemen in pieces, an official familiar with US intelligence told CNN previously.

They have previously used drones and anti-ship missiles to target commercial ships – some of which aren’t believed to be linked to Israel – prompting the USS Carney, a warship in the Red Sea, to respond to distress calls.

The Iran-backed Houthi rebel movement announced it had launched ballistic missiles against Israel on Saturday, marking its entry into the war.

“The Yemeni Armed Forces, with the help of Allah Almighty and relying upon Allah, have carried out the first military operation using a barrage of ballistic missiles targeting sensitive Israeli military sites in southern occupied Palestine,” it said in a statement, adding that it was part of what it called a “direct military intervention” in support of Iran.

The Israel Defense Forces said earlier it had detected a missile launched toward Israel from Yemen and was working to intercept it.

The Houthi statement said the operation was a direct response to “continued military escalation, the targeting of infrastructure, and the perpetration of crimes and massacres against our brothers in Lebanon, Iran, Iraq, and Palestine.”

A Houthi official previously told CNN the group was prepared to join the war in support of Iran, if the US and Israel escalate their attacks.

Closing the Bab al-Mandab Strait off the coast of Yemen – the chokepoint linking the Red Sea to global shipping lanes – is a “viable option,” Mohammed Mansour, undersecretary of the Houthis’ ministry of information, said in a text to CNN.

20,000 seafarers are stranded at sea since Iran’s effective closure of the Strait of Hormuz, one of the world’s most vital trade routes.

Here’s what a captain who was stuck in the Middle East for three weeks told CNN:

20,000 seafarers are stranded at sea as the US-Israeli conflict with Iran virtually shuts down the Strait of Hormuz, one of the world’s most vital trade routes. CNN's Kristie Lu Stout speaks with a captain who was stuck in the Middle East for three weeks and witnessed projectiles flying near his oil tanker.