Rights groups yesterday expressed alarm that Iranian authorities were intensifying a deadly crackdown under cover of an internet blackout on the biggest demonstrations in the Islamic republic in over three years after another night of mass protests.

Says internet freedom monitor Netblocks

A US State Department spokesperson said

Protests have taken place across Iran for 13 days

Iran was largely cut off from the outside world yesterday after authorities blacked out the internet to curb growing unrest, as video showed buildings and vehicles ablaze in anti-government protests raging through the streets of several cities.

Protests over economic hardships continues around the country

"Now been offline for 12 hours," says Internet monitor Netblocks

Saudi Arabia on Saturday called for dialogue between factions in southern Yemen amid clashes in resource-rich Hadramawt province, where the UAE-backed Southern Transitional Council (STC) seized vast swathes of territory in recent weeks.

Supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei yesterday acknowledged the economic demands of protesters in Iran, where demonstrations have spread to more than two dozen cities, even as he warned there would be no quarter for “rioters”.

US President Donald Trump threatened on Friday to come to the aid of protesters

One man was killed in Iran on Wednesday night, state television said, the first death reported after days of demonstrations over high inflation that mark the most significant unrest since nationwide protests three years ago.

Airstrikes killed seven people in Yemen yesterday as a Saudi-led coalition attacked UAE-backed separatists who have seized huge swathes of territory, an official for the group.

The latest arrests raised to nearly 600 the total number detained over the past week

Saudi Arabia yesterday warned it would back Yemen’s government in any military confrontation with separatist forces and urged them to withdraw “peacefully” from recently-seized provinces.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu will depart for the United States today and meet with President Donald Trump in Florida a day later, an Israeli official told AFP.

UAE-backed separatists accused Saudi Arabia, the main backer of Yemen’s internationally-recognised government, of striking their positions in Hadramawt yesterday, a day after the kingdom urged them to return recently-seized territory.

Saudi Arabia, the main backer of Yemen’s internationally recognised government, said yesterday that Yemeni separatists should return territory seized recently, adding that it seeks to deescalate tensions within the government camp.

Some 115 alleged members of the Islamic State group suspected of planning attacks during the end of year holidays have been arrested in Turkey, Istanbul’s prosecutor general said yesterday.

Iran insisted yesterday that its missile programme was defensive in nature and designed to dissuade attack, while adding the existence of its arsenal was not up for debate.

The United States was joined Saturday by Qatar, Egypt and Turkey in urging parties in the Gaza ceasefire to uphold their obligations and exercise restraint, the chief US envoy said after talks in Miami.