Middle East crisis live: Israel and Iran exchange fresh round of strikes as attacks intensify

Yemen announced that it had joined the war for the first time since the 8 April ceasefire. The Houthi leadership fired missiles towards Jaffa Israel and said Israeli linked commercial shipping would be blocked entering the Red Sea, a decision that will unnerve other shipping. Iranian officials had earlier suggested the revival of the blockade of Bab al-Mandab strait for Israeli linked shipping was being considered by the Houthi leadership. In a statement Yemen’s Houthi leadership also known as Ansar Allah Yemen said “We declare a complete and absolute ban on maritime navigation for the Israeli enemy in the Red Sea and believe that any enemy movement from the moment this statement is announced will be a military target for our armed forces. “We will respond to escalation with escalation, and our military operations will be increasingly coordinated with events, battles, and participation in the axis of jihad and resistance”. The Houthis for internal reasons has been reluctant to join the US-Iran conflict preferring to hold talks with Saudi Arabia about reuniting Yemen. Aliakbar Velayati adviser to Iran’s supreme leader Mojtaba Khamenei had earlier warned “today’s security of the Ban al-Mandab strait should not cause the enemy to make a miscalculation; the resistance rings have the power to close both waterways “The choice is yours; stop the folly or enter into a regulated balance of the two straits”. The joint closure of the strait of Hormuz and Bab al-Mandab has the capacity to sabotage the flow of East West flow of commercial naval traffic. Iranian officials admitted Israeli strikes hit the Karun Petrochemical Company in the Petrochemical Special Economic Zone. Iran said the attacks did not result in any casualties, but “the extent of damage and possible injuries is under investigation.” Abbas Araghchi the foreign minister through the night was in contact with fellow diplomats to explain Iran’s decision to restart its assault on Israel. He spoke with the Uk foreign minister Yvette Cooper and the Turkish foreign minister Hakan Fidan as well as the Saudi foreign minister