Blinken heads to Middle East

BBC Live  Summary

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken is making another visit to the Middle East - his fifth trip to the region since 7 October

His visit comes after the US said it carried out more strikes against Houthi missiles in Yemen on Sunday

The military said it had struck a land-attack cruise missile and four anti-ship missiles that "were prepared to launch against ships in the Red Sea"

That development followed joint US-UK strikes on Houthi targets - which the UK says were intended to stop the Houthis' attacks on international shipping in the Red Sea

It follows continued attacks by the Iran-backed group in the Red Sea on military and commercial ships which it says are linked to Israel

The US also says it is planning more strikes on Iran-linked targets, in response to the drone attack in Jordan which killed three US troops more than a week ago

But Iran says the accusations it was involved are "baseless". The Islamic Resistance in Iraq, an Iran-backed militia, claimed responsibility

/MHK/