Hamas deputy leader Saleh al-Arouri, wanted for years by Israel, was killed Jan. 2 in a presumed Israeli drone strike in the Beirut suburb of Dahiyeh Hamas. (ToI, NPR)

A double bombing in Iran killed some 100 people and wounded more than 200, the deadliest attack since the Islamic Revolution of 1979. Crowds had gathered in the city of Kerman to honor Iranian Revolutionary Guards commander Qassem Soleimani who died in a US drone strike in Iraq exactly four years ago. Iranian TV captured panic on the cemetery's main road as the blasts erupted 20 minutes apart. The country's supreme leader vowed a harsh response without naming suspects. US officials disavowed any involvement. (PBS NewsHour, Al Jazeera)

Iran executed four individuals on Dec. 29, including a woman, over allegations that the four were involved in sabotage operations in connection with Israel's Mossad intelligence agency. (Jurist)

The Islamic State has claimed responsibility for the bombing attack that killed 84 people in Kerman, Iran, during a memorial procession for Maj. Gen. Qassim Suleimani, according to a post on the extremist group's official Telegram account.

The group called the attack a "dual martyrdom operation," and described how two militants approached a ceremony at the tomb of Gen. Suleimani and detonated explosive belts strapped to their bodies "near the grave of the hypocrite leader." (NYT)

The US conducted a drone strike in Baghdad Jan. 4 that killed Mushtaq Jawad Kazim al-Jawari, AKA Abu Taqwa, leader of the Harakat-al-Nujaba militia. (ASF)

Iraqi Prime Minister Mohammed Shia al-Sudani announced plans Jan. 5 to form a committee tasked with preparing for the end of the US-led international coalition's mission in the country. Al-Sudani announced the plans in a speech while his office issued a summary post on X, stating, "We affirm our firm and principled position in ending the existence of the international coalition after the justifications for its existence have ended." (Jurist)

Hezbollah said Jan. 8 that a top commander was killed in a strike in southern Lebanon. Wissam al-Tawil, a commander of the terror group’s elite Radwan force, was killed in the Lebanese town of Majdal Selm, when a missile hit the SUV he was in. 

The killing came as Benjamin Netanyahu visited troops near the border with Lebanon and vowed that Israel "will do everything to restore security to the north." (NYT, ToI)

The United States and United Kingdom launched air-strikes against Houthi targets in Yemen Jan. 11, following a spate of attacks on shipping vessels in the Red Sea. Explosions were reported in several cities across the war-ravaged country, including the capital Sanaa, the western port of Hodeidah, the Houthi stronghold of Saada and the southwestern city of Dhamar. Five Houthi fighters were reported killed in the strikes. (MEE, AA)

Tens of thousands of Yemenis gathered in several cities to hear Houthi leaders condemn US and British strikes on their country. "Your strikes on Yemen are terrorism," said Mohammed Ali Al-Houthi, a member of the Houthi Supreme Political Council, referring to the US. "The United States is the Devil." (Reuters)

Iran's Ministry of Intelligence released a statement announcing the arrest of 35 “suicide terrorist operatives” in connection with January 3 attacks in Kerman, a city in south-central Iran that reportedly killed at least 103 and injured more than 100 people. The Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) have taken responsibility for the attack. (Jurist)

The US and UK defended the legality of their strikes launched in Yemen against Houthi rebels at the UN Security Council's Jan. 12 meeting. The air-strikes are being conducted by an coalition led by the United States and supported by Britain, Australia, Bahrain, Canada, and the Netherlands. During the Security Council meeting, the United States vehemently defended the strikes, citing Security Council resolution 2722 (2024), which demands an end to Houthi attacks on commercial vessel in the Red Sea. (Jurist)

US Navy SEALs boarded a vessel and seized Iranian-manufactured missile components believed to be destined for Houthi rebel forces in Yemen during a "flag verification" mission in the Arabian Sea near the coast of Somalia, Central Command (CENTCOM) announced Jan. 16, claiming the components were being transported in violation of a UN arms embargo. 

The operation, supported by helicopters and unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs), led to the confiscation of advanced weaponry, including parts for medium-range ballistic missiles and anti-ship cruise missiles.

The ship's crew, consisting of 14 members, was detained, and the vessel, deemed unsafe, was sunk by US Navy forces. CENTCOM said that the disposition of the crew "is being determined by international law." Two SEALs involved in the mission were reported missing at sea. A search operation is underway. (Jurist)

The US launched fresh air-strikes on Houthi targets in Yemen Jan. 16, and the Iran-aligned group claimed responsibility for a missile attack on another cargo ship in the Red Sea. The US said the strikes targeted four anti-ship ballistic missiles that the Houthis were preparing to launch at commercial vessels in the Red Sea. (MEE)

The Biden administration moved Jan. 17 to designate the Houthi rebels, or Ansar Allah, as a Specially Designated Global Terrorist (SDGT) group. The administration stopped short of adding Ansar Allah to the Foreign Terrorist Organization (FTO) list, which would have made it illegal for any person within US jurisdiction to provide "material support or resources" to the group, with grim implications for aid to Houthi-controlled areas of Yemen. (Jurist)

The US launched new strikes against Houthi anti-ship missile sites Jan. 18, deeming them "an imminent threat" to shipping in the Red Sea. (Reuters)

Five senior members of Iran's security forces have been killed in an air-strike on the Syrian capital. Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard blamed Israel for the attack, which it said killed its military advisers as well as a number of Syrian forces. (BBC News)

The US and UK carried out additional strikes against Houthi targets in Yemen on Jan. 22, marking the eighth round of attacks by the US military on the rebels’ infrastructure in just over 10 days, according to a joint statement.

The US used fighter jets from the USS Dwight D. Eisenhower, as well as surface vessels and a submarine to strike eight locations, the senior military official said. In all, the official said approximately 25-30 precision guided munitions were fired at the targets, including Tomahawk cruise missiles. (CNN)

Houthi authorities sent a letter Jan. 23 to the UN's acting humanitarian coordinator in Yemen, Peter Hawkins, requesting that all British and American nationals leave Yemen within a month. (Jurist)

Iran executed four individuals it claims were involved in an intelligence operation backed by Israel's Mossad agency. Iran charged the four individuals with orchestrating a bomb attack on a factory in the city of Isfahan, known for manufacturing weapons and equipment for Iran's Ministry of Defense. The plot was supposedly intended to take place during the summer of 2022 but was averted by Iranian intelligence. (Jurist)

Houthi camps in mountains surrounding Yemen's capital Sanaa were hit by air-strikes Feb. 3. Houthi-run Al Masirah TV said "US-British aggression" is targeting the capital. (Xinhua)

Iran has accused Israel of being behind two attacks last week on gas pipelines that disrupted supplies in several provinces.

"The explosion of the country's gas lines was the work of Israel," Oil Minister Javad Owji said Feb. 21 after a cabinet meeting.

Two explosions hit Iran's leading south-north gas pipeline network on Feb. 14. They were initially described by Owji as a "terrorist act or sabotage," without naming who was behind the attacks. The targeted line links Asaluyeh, a hub for Iran's offshore South Pars gas field, with cities on the Caspian Sea. (Al Jazeera)

A Syrian man was arrested after a shooting on June 5 near the US embassy in Beirut, the Lebanese army said,. The diplomatic mission says its personnel were safe.

The embassy, in the northern suburb of Awkar, "was subjected to gunfire by a person holding Syrian nationality," the army said in a statement on X. (AFP)

A cargo ship sank in the Red Sea sank on June 19, a week after it was attacked by Houthi rebels firing drones from two speedboats. One seaman is believed to have been killed. It's the second ship to be sunk by the Houthis since they began their campaign against commercial vessels to protest Israel’s war in Gaza. (PRI)

An apparent drone attack in Tel Aviv left one person dead and several injured, with Yemen's Houthis immediately claiming responsibility. The attack came hours after Israel’s military announced the targeted killing of another senior Hezbollah commander in Lebanon. (DW)

The Israeli military said July 20 that it had struck targets in the Houthi-controlled regions of Yemen, close to the port city of Hodeidah, following the months-long series of Houthi attacks on Israeli targets. Those included a drone assault on Tel Aviv the day before that killed an Israeli citizen and injured 10 others.

In what it called an operational update posted on social media, the Israel Defense Forces said the locations bombed by its fighter jets in Yemen had been military targets. A spokesperson for the Houthis posted on social media that the Israeli jets had attacked civilian facilities, oil tanks and the electrical power station in Hodeidah. (NPR)

The US carried out a round of strikes in Yemen against the Houthis on Oct. 16, according to Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin, targeting five underground weapons storage facilities with B-2 stealth bombers. (CNN)