The International Criminal Court has so far turned a blind eye to the family of Shiri Bibas and her young sons, who were brutally murdered by Iran-backed Hamas terrorists after being forcefully taken from their homes during the Oct. 7 attack on Israel.

The Bibas boys — Ariel, four, Kfir, nine months, and their mother, Shiri — became the faces of the Israeli hostages held by terrorists in Gaza. All three were brutally murdered and now the mother's uncle, Maurice Shnaider, wants justice.

Before the court's Chief Prosecutor, Karim Khan, was removed for misconduct, Khan oversaw the issuance of controversial arrest warrants in 2024 for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, former Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant, and Hamas terror commander Mohammad Deif, alleging they had committed a variety of war crimes and crimes against humanity. 

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Khan’s ICC only sought to grant "selective justice" according to legal expert Elliot Malin, who told Fox News Digital that he filed two cases with the Office of the Prosecutor in 2025 requesting warrants against the leaders he accuses of truly practicing war crimes, including genocide, in Israel and Gaza. 

Malin, president of Stratos Council, filed his first case with the ICC in Sept. 2025. It requested that the court investigate and issue warrants for two Iranian officials for "crimes against humanity, war crimes and genocide committed in Israel and Gaza on and after Oct. 7, 2023." Malin said that "It is very clear that the Islamic Republic is the principal to these proxies who are operating as agents of the regime… and we should hold the Islamic Republic directly accountable."

The request for investigation and warrants was filed on behalf of Shnaider, whose filings say he has lost five generations of his family "to acts committed with the intent to destroy Jews," including the Holocaust.

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On Oct. 7, Shnaider told Fox News Digital that he turned on the news to see his niece, Shiri Bibas, "being taken away" with her young children into captivity. Bibas and her children were later murdered as hostages. Shnaider says that he prays that Bibas "didn’t witness how they did what they did to a four-year-old and a nine-month-old."

Shnaider’s sister and brother-in-law were also murdered at Kibbutz Nir Oz on Oct. 7. He explained that they "were burned inside the house in a brutal way that you cannot imagine, you cannot explain, you cannot answer." By the time of his sister and brother-in-law’s burial, he explained that "there was hardly anything left" to put in the caskets.

Shnaider says that the grief from the horrific losses of his family on Oct. 7 "doesn’t compute in my body," leaving him "choking" with tears. Though Shnaider acknowledges that he will never understand the rationale behind hate, he said that "the most I can do is fight them in the way I can." He believes it is now up to the ICC "to put a stop to it." If the ICC fails to do so, Shnaider says the court "should be condemned" for its bias.

While the case against Iranian leaders was filed on behalf of just the Shnaider family, Malin advocates filing a case on behalf of each family who lost relatives during the attacks of Oct. 7.

In Dec. 2025, Malin filed a second case, requesting investigation and arrest warrants for over a dozen Hamas members for a myriad of "war crimes, and crimes against humanity committed against Palestinians in Gaza."

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Malin says it is also important to hold Hamas leaders "directly accountable for the crime of genocide." He explained that Hamas attackers’ own words prove that there was no military goal during the Oct. 7 attacks, which largely killed civilians. 

Malin said Hamas attackers told Oct. 7 victims that they would continue attacks into Israel "until there are no Jews left in Palestine," and during phone calls to family, an attacker celebrated specifically having killed Jews.

"They’re not talking about soldiers. They’re not talking about people who, in the course of combat or conflict, would be allowed to be targeted. They’re talking about civilians," Malin said.

Malin added that the individuals now trying to justify Hamas’ actions on Oct. 7 "are now justifying the actual crime of genocide."

The case against Hamas leaders also notes their particular role in the deaths of innocent Gazans during the conflict that followed Oct. 7. "The goal there is to raise light of Hamas’ criminal conduct against Palestinians in Gaza," Malin said. He pointed out Hamas’ use of civilians as human shields and their torture of civilians, which he says "we have years of evidence for."

Malin said that the ICC has not responded to either of the cases he has filed. "If we don’t shed light on that at the ICC and the ICC refuses to do anything about it, then the only question for me… is what is the purpose that you serve?"

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Malin argues that though the Iranian officials, one of whom was killed during the ongoing conflict with the U.S., were from a state that is not party to the statute, because the ICC has jurisdiction over Gaza, it is responsible for overseeing crimes committed there.

In response to questions about their response to Malin’s filings, the Office of the Prosecutor for the ICC told Fox News Digital, "On the Situation in the State of Palestine the Office of the Prosecutor (OTP) is actively investigating all crimes committed within the Court’s jurisdiction since 13 June 2014. The investigation is ongoing, and the Office continues to collect evidence in that context."

The statement added, "The OTP carries out its mandate independently and impartially, in accordance with its founding treaty, the Rome Statute," it continued. "The Office does not disclose details of the investigation to ensure the integrity of its processes and proceedings and to maintain the safety and security of all concerned, including victims, witnesses, the Office's staff and all those who cooperate with the Office and support its activities."

Malin said that Khan sought warrants against senior Israeli and Hamas leaders for the crime against humanity of extermination, which he described as "genocide without the intent [to commit genocide.]"

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That warrant was denied for Israeli leaders, but ultimately approved for Deif, though he had been previously killed in an Israeli air strike.

Earlier this month, Secretary of State Marco Rubio imposed sweeping financial sanctions against the court. In a recorded video, Rubio charged, "Our message is clear: The United States and the American people are not subject to the jurisdiction of this fake ICC."

Saudi Arabia is turning to foreign allies to fend off Houthi missiles and drones, exposing a military vulnerability that could soon become President Donald Trump's problem.

Britain announced Tuesday it would send Typhoon fighter jets to defend Saudi cities and critical infrastructure. Egypt is already assisting the kingdom and Israel has offered to step in to help.

Riyadh, meanwhile, is asking Washington for more interceptors, and Trump is weighing whether the U.S. should intervene and strike the Iran-backed Houthis directly.

The reinforcements could help shield Saudi cities and critical infrastructure. They do little, however, to eliminate the Houthi launchers and weapons threatening them from Yemen.

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"The theme right now, I think, is defensive or defensive-minded," Jason Campbell, a senior fellow at the Middle East Institute, told Fox News Digital.

The question, he said, is whether that evolves into something "more offensive or kinetic."

The Houthis have already demonstrated their ability to punch through Saudi defenses. Their strikes and attempted strikes on the kingdom more than doubled in a single week this month, according to the Armed Conflict Location & Event Data Project, with airports in Riyadh, Jizan, Najran, Dammam and Abha targeted since Oct. 5.

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The most devastating barrage struck King Khalid International Airport in Riyadh, killing at least 13 people and wounding more than 300.

Other attacks have targeted Saudi energy infrastructure, turning the Houthi campaign into a threat not only to the kingdom's security but also to the economic stability Riyadh has spent years trying to project.

Saudi Arabia has spent decades building one of the region's most sophisticated militaries. Riyadh spent an estimated $83.2 billion on defense last year, making it the eighth-largest military spender in the world, according to the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute. Its arsenal includes U.S.-made F-15 fighter jets, Patriot missile defenses and advanced radar systems.

Yet the Houthis are exploiting a mismatch between the defenses Saudi Arabia and its partners spent years building and the weapons now coming at them.

Campbell said the U.S. and its regional partners had been comparatively well-prepared to confront the higher end of Iran's arsenal, including ballistic missiles and other advanced weapons.

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"What the region was decidedly less prepared for was an array of lower end of the spectrum ... threats posed by Iran and now the Houthis," Campbell said.

The volume is part of the problem. Campbell said Saudi Arabia and other U.S. partners have burned through significant numbers of high-end interceptors against ballistic missiles and other threats, while lower-flying weapons can also challenge radar and early-warning systems that were not necessarily designed or calibrated to detect them.

Secretary of State Marco Rubio said Tuesday that Riyadh is competing with allies around the world — and the U.S. military itself — for a limited supply of the interceptors needed to defend against missile attacks.

"I also talked to Saudi Arabia today; they’d like interceptors. Israel would like interceptors. We would like interceptors. Every country in the world would like interceptors," Rubio said, calling them "probably the most in-demand product right now in the defense field."

The U.S. cannot meet every request, Rubio acknowledged. American forces must maintain minimum air-defense requirements at bases around the world, while the sophisticated interceptors are expensive and take time to manufacture even as production increases.

"We have our own needs too," Rubio said.

Saudi Arabia's sheer size compounds the challenge. The kingdom stretches across more than 800,000 square miles, leaving cities, airports, oil facilities and military installations spread across a vast territory.

"Saudi Arabia is a huge geography to protect, and this speaks to a larger threat we’re facing globally: a relatively small nonstate actor can pose a serious challenge to even a sophisticated and extremely expensive military," Farea Al-Muslimi, a research fellow at Chatham House, told Fox News Digital. "The Houthis can impose enormous costs without having to spend very much themselves."

That imbalance helps explain why Saudi Arabia is increasingly looking beyond its own military for protection. But outside assistance may have limits.

"Many years later, everyone is realizing that the Houthis are not just Saudi Arabia’s problem, but everyone’s problem — whether that’s Turkey, Egypt, France, the UK or others," Al-Muslimi said. "But I don’t think this outside support will make a significant military difference unless the U.S. is directly involved."

That leaves Trump facing a potentially consequential decision: whether to continue helping Saudi Arabia defend against incoming attacks or go further and target the Houthis directly.

Trump has kept direct U.S. military action on the table. Asked earlier this month whether the U.S. could join Saudi strikes against the Houthis, he said, "We may. We’re gonna look at it."

"We’ll make a decision," Trump said. "We move very quickly."

But direct U.S. intervention would not be without precedent — or questions about what another bombing campaign could accomplish.

Operation Rough Rider targeted Houthi positions across Yemen for roughly two months in 2025 before Trump halted the operation after Oman brokered an agreement with the group.

"We’ve already seen the U.S. conduct a 60-day bombing campaign of Houthi strongholds in Yemen with limited, if any, real strategic benefits," Campbell said.

A new campaign would also compete for U.S. military resources amid the war with Iran. Campbell said taking on the Houthis would require clearer objectives and likely contributions from a broader coalition.

Israel has also offered to help defend Saudi Arabia, an offer Trump has publicly encouraged Riyadh to accept. But bringing Israel openly into the fight could create a different problem for the kingdom.

"If I were Saudi, I would never accept help like that," Al-Muslimi said. "The optics are enormously difficult. Saudi Arabia is the custodian of the two holiest mosques in Islam, and appearing alongside Netanyahu to fight another Yemeni group would be a nonstarter for much of Saudi society."

For now, the U.S. continues to provide intelligence and targeting support to Saudi Arabia as its allies focus on defending the kingdom.

"The collective effort seems to be at stemming the threat to the Saudi kingdom itself," Campbell said.

But as Al-Muslimi cautioned, even a stronger defensive coalition may not eliminate the danger.

"It can make Saudi Arabia safer, but it doesn’t solve the larger problem of dismantling the Houthi threat."

The latest fighting is another chapter in a war that has torn through Yemen for more than a decade. The Houthis seized the capital, Sanaa, in 2014, prompting Saudi Arabia to lead a military intervention the following year against the Iran-backed group and in support of Yemen's internationally recognized government.

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Years of Saudi airstrikes failed to dislodge the Houthis, while the group steadily expanded its missile and drone capabilities with support from Tehran. The conflict eventually settled into an uneasy truce before erupting again this year, with Saudi-backed forces fighting Houthi advances on the ground and the Houthis increasingly taking the war across the border into Saudi Arabia.

Yemeni civilians are again bearing much of the cost. More than 250,000 people have fled the renewed fighting, according to the United Nations. WHO recorded at least 674 deaths and nearly 3,000 injuries in just six weeks of fighting between August and September, while millions were already facing severe hunger and displacement after more than a decade of war.

Take President Donald Trump’s threat on the MOAB seriously. The U.S. Air Force’s GBU-43 Massive Ordnance Air Blast weapon, nicknamed the "mother of all bombs," could figure prominently in any new airstrike plans targeting Iran.

"The mother of all bombs is not nuclear," Trump said. "This is just an extremely large bomb. It’s like a tiny nuclear bomb, but the mother of all bombs is one big bomb, but it’s not nuclear."

"I wouldn’t use nuclear. We don’t have to," Trump said.

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He’s right. The U.S. has a range of precision weapons that can knock out any suspicious target in Iran, including the construction activity at Pickaxe Mountain. Admiral Bradley Cooper, commander, United States Central Command, has detailed knowledge of high-value Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps sites that could be MOAB targets.

President Trump has said he won’t strike Iran prior to the midterms, but clearly he is looking at Central Command’s strike briefing charts in great detail. And he wants Iran to know it.

Here are four reasons the MOAB is a formidable threat.

Trump ordered the first use of a MOAB in Afghanistan in April 2017

The MOAB was dropped on April 13, 2017, on a cave complex in Nangarhar Province, Afghanistan. "There was no surprise," then-Secretary of Defense James Mattis said of the MOAB. "The battle was going on, and we were going to use what was necessary to break ISIS," he added. Mattis said he wasn’t going to waste time "digging into tunnels to count bodies." CNN reported 94 ISIS fighters killed.

Too big for U.S. bombers

While America’s B-2, B-52 and B-1 bombers can easily carry the weight of the 21,000-lb. MOAB, the problem is the shape. The MOAB used in 2017 was too big to fit on the standard racks and rotary launchers in the bomber weapons bays. For the Afghanistan mission, the MOAB was loaded on a special cradle and slid out of the back ramp of an MC-130 while in flight. Don’t worry about the MC-130s. Yes, the basic C-130 is a cargo plane, but the Special Operations versions like the MC-130 are adapted for clandestine missions. This is also where air dominance over Iran comes in handy. The initial weeks of Operation Epic Fury knocked out Iran’s Russian-built integrated air defenses. Subsequent strikes by CENTCOM have prevented Iran from reconstituting their air defenses. MC-130s on a MOAB mission might also get help with electronic warfare and other attack suppression from the Space Force, U.S. Air Force and U.S. Navy carrier-based aircraft like the EA-18G, F-35C and E-2D.

MOAB is a precision weapon

The clue is the official designation of GBU-43 which stands for Guided Bomb Unit. Small drogue parachutes stabilize the MOAB upon release and then the satellite-guidance kit guides the bomb to the designated point of impact. MOAB is actually an air burst; earlier, smaller heavy air blast weapons were used in World War II and in Vietnam under the name "daisy-cutter." The theory behind an air burst is to maximize blast effect without muffling by the ground.

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Built for the Iraq war

The MOAB was built in great haste by the Air Force Research Lab just prior to Operation Iraqi Freedom in 2003. At the time, reports suggested Iraq might have built large underground bunkers for dictator Saddam Hussein’s loyal troops. Saddam Hussein back in 1991 had famously taunted the U.S.-led coalition about engaging in "the mother of all battles," which, of course, turned out to be the airpower-led victory of Operation Desert Storm.

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Trump’s decision to bring up the MOAB is all about keeping military pressure on the IRGC as the U.S. naval blockade squeezes their oil revenue. The MOAB would be an intimidation weapon for knocking out military targets. IRGC commanders would face major losses. And it’s also a reminder that the U.S. can carry out any military strike deemed necessary, to prevent Iran’s path to a nuclear weapon and stop their terrorism.

Sea mines have resurfaced as a threat in the Strait of Hormuz, where Iran claimed Oct.17 that two oil tankers caught fire after striking the explosives, raising fresh alarms over the safety of one of the world's most critical shipping lanes.

This came as the International Maritime Organization (IMO) warned that sea mines pose a serious threat to vessels navigating the strategic waterway and while Tehran continues to maintain its own unauthorized shipping corridor inside its territorial waters.

"The traffic separation scheme, the information that we have is that they still have mines. And of course, whilst the conflict is ongoing, it's very difficult for us to use third parties to verify that it is clear of these hazards," IMO Secretary-General Arsenio Dominguez told Fox News Digital.

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"So in the meantime, we cannot guarantee that a vessel that intends to transit that route will not be hit by a mine."

Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) navy said Saturday that two oil tankers caught fire after striking naval mines while crossing the Strait of Hormuz, Reuters reported, citing Iran's official Islamic Republic News Agency (IRNA).

State media also said both tankers were carrying about 2 million barrels of crude oil, according to Reuters.

IRNA also reported that the vessels had switched off their positioning and radar systems and attempted to use a route through the strategic waterway that Iran had not authorized.

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The second tanker was left immobilized after striking a mine, according to the Reuters report.

The alleged strikes came as Tehran continued to maintain its transit passageway inside Iranian territorial waters, imposing tolls and safety fees administered by the IRGC — a framework rejected by Washington and the IMO as inconsistent with international maritime law.

International shipping through the narrow chokepoint has historically relied on an IMO-approved traffic separation scheme adopted in 1968.

"Right now there's only one route that was adopted back in 1968 that is approved and recognized for IMO and that appears in all the charts for the vessels to operate," Dominguez explained.

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"There's only one route that should be used for transit, but it's not clear of mines right now, so it's not safe."

"We have received confirmation from Iran about the establishment of its temporary route in the waters," he added before stating that the route was not provided with "an official confirmation or a decision of the organization."

"Any other route needs to actually be sent to the organization to go through the processes, and we have not received that."

"We have received communication from Iran to use that route because of the conflict," Dominguez clarified.

"That's the way that it's been presented. But anything for us to approve needs to go through the mechanisms at the international maritime organizations and the member states need to review it."

The developments also came amid stalled negotiations between Washington and Tehran over ending the conflict and restoring maritime traffic.

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Mohsen Rezaei, secretary of Iran's Supreme National Security Council and a former Revolutionary Guard commander, said Tehran considered Washington's latest response to negotiations "insufficient," Reuters reported, according to IRNA.

Rezaei said the U.S. had accepted some of Iran's seven conditions but that other issues remained unresolved, adding that Tehran was no longer responding to Washington and that the U.S. needed to clarify the outstanding matters.

Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said that Tehran had submitted a proposal to Washington through Qatar, which is mediating the negotiations, outlining conditions under which the Strait of Hormuz could reopen and normal maritime traffic resume within seven days.

"Our situation is clear and based on ⁠the seven-day proposal presented to the US. They shared comments which ​we are reviewing, but our proposal is still on the table ​and if there is any honesty on the US part, which there isn't, the way to reopening the Strait of Hormuz is obvious," Araqchi said in ​Baghdad, Reuters reported

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Meanwhile, attacks on commercial vessels around the Strait of Hormuz have surged over the past two weeks.

Senior Iranian officials also told Reuters that Tehran has shifted its strategy for attacking commercial vessels during that period.

For commercial shipping operators, Dominguez warned that the continued threat of mines and attacks means the waterway has yet to return to normal operations.

The Strait of Hormuz is "not open for business in the way that it was before the conflict started," he said.

"Our role right now is to prepare for when we have the opportunity to go back, resume the operations, follow all the procedures at IMO, but not until the root causes are addressed and those are beyond IMO."

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Fox News Digital reached out to U.S. Central Command (CENTCOM) for comment.

A new coalition of Iranian opposition groups in the restive southeastern provinces of Sistan and Baluchistan and Kerman in the Islamic Republic have launched a string of armed attacks against the clerical regime in the region.

The six strikes claimed by the coalition known as the People’s Fighters Front (JMM) have contributed to instability in the provinces, raising pressing questions about whether armed resistance against the clerical regime in Tehran will spread and if the regime can retain control over Sistan and Baluchistan, which is a majority Iranian Sunni province.

Iran is largely a Shiite Muslim country, and the minority Iranian Sunni population has faced discrimination over the decades. Sistan and Baluchistan is the second largest of the 31 Iranian provinces.

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Mardo Soghom, an Iran expert who has written extensively about the Islamic Republic, told Fox News Digital, "The Sunni unrest can stretch the regime's military and internal security capabilities and have a psychological impact on its forces, in addition to what they experienced during the 40-day operation by the U.S. and Israel. The armed groups would not be able to establish control of the south-east, but they can seriously weaken the regime's control."

He added, "Whether these forces are receiving assistance from the Islamic Republic's adversaries — being that the Gulf Arab states or even Israel and the U.S. — remains an open question."

According to an October Human Rights Activist News Agency (HRANA) report, "The pace of violence accelerated significantly in recent weeks [in the provinces] with 18 incidents recorded in just the final 18 days of the reporting period, surpassing the total for any previous full month." 

JMM coalesced as an opposition coalition in Dec. 2025 through an amalgam of Baloch nationalist organizations with the militant Sunni group Jaish al-Adl.

HRANA documented "at least 63 armed incidents were recorded across Iran’s southeastern provinces of Sistan and Baluchistan and Kerman between March 31 and Oct.10, 2026, amid a sharp escalation in armed violence in the region."

The armed resistance resulted in "at least 94 people dead and 33 injured, while official sources reported 87 fatalities and 10 injuries."

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The Baloch coalition stunned the regime on Oct. 14 with the assassinations of women members of the Basij paramilitaries, including a commander and a police officer in Sistan and Baluchistan Province. The Basij has been designated a terrorist entity by the U.S. government because it falls under the American-classified terrorist movement Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC).

Just days before the attack on the female Basij commander, Iranian regime-controlled media reported that Nosrat Eftekhari, deputy for Cultural and Social Affairs of the Provincial Law Enforcement Command, was killed by a roadside bomb in Zahedan, Sistan and Baluchistan provinces.

Jason Brodsky, policy director at United Against Nuclear Iran (UANI), told Fox News Digital that "There have been periodic cycles of unrest in Sistan and Baluchistan Province over the years. What we are now witnessing is an uptick in such activity. The current commander of the IRGC’s Ground Forces, Mohammad Karami used to be governor of the province and commanded IRGC forces there. His experience in the province was one of the reasons Karami was elevated to the post in 2025 given the sensitive security situation in the country."

Brodsky continued that "I don’t see any imminent threat in terms of such a seizure of control, but a red line for Iranians, especially in the opposition, is preserving the territorial integrity of Iran. That needs to be understood in Western capitals."

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Khalilullah Balochi, who is a Baluch activist and journalist, told Iran International that "The activities of these groups are not new; what is new is the intensification of attacks." 

JMM’s devastating attacks targeting the brutal Iranian regime have generated attention from Iranian dissidents and experts.

Navid Mohebbi, who worked as a Persian media analyst for the State Department's Public Affairs Bureau, told Fox News Digital "The newly formed popular Fighters Front has carried out a series of relatively successful attacks against mid-level regime officials and security personnel in Sistan and Baluchistan province in recent months, drawing a degree of public attention. At a time when the regime is executing protesters on a daily basis, the killing of certain mid-ranking security and military operatives has been met with some satisfaction among segments of Iranian society."

He warned, however, that "Nevertheless, the Iranian public remains deeply cautious and largely distrustful of such groups. Two major concerns underpin this distrust: the possibility of separatist ambitions and the influence of radical Islamism, which is fundamentally at odds with the increasingly secular outlook of Iranian society."

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Mohebbi sees encouraging signs from the JMM, including "the coalition’s recent statements, unlike the rhetoric traditionally associated with similar groups, contain no explicit references to Baluch separatism. Instead, the coalition has identified its primary objective as dismantling the system of Velayat-e Faqih (Guardianship of the Islamic Jurist) and liberating the country from its oppression. It has explicitly declared that it seeks ‘an Iran for all Iranians."’

He continued that "The reality is that these groups lack the capacity to confront the regime in conventional warfare. Through guerrilla operations, however, they can inflict significant psychological blows on the regime and its security establishment. Whether their activities can gain traction beyond Sistan and Baluchistan will depend largely on their ability to sustain what appears to be an effort to earn broader public trust."

Beni Sabti, an Iran expert at the Institute for National Security Studies (INSS) in Israel, told Fox News Digital the coalition has "a lot of guns" and created an "armed rebellion" against the Iranian regime in the provinces. He said, however, the armed upheaval is limited to the region Baluchistan.

Sabti, who was born in Tehran, said the clerical regime in the capital Tehran does not exercise solid control over the provinces, which resembles parts of South America where some governments lost sovereignty to militias.

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He said that there are no reporters in the restive region. As a result, it is difficult to secure accurate news. Sabti said the "IRGC has a headquarters there to fight against these Baluchis." The JMM coalition "can only continue to harm the soldiers and, from time to time, kill a commander. There are a lot of these local commanders in Iran. It is not like an air force commander."

Vice President JD Vance declined to endorse Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's reelection bid, saying he intends to stay out of Israel's election despite President Donald Trump throwing his support behind the Israeli leader.

During an interview Monday with Mark Halperin on "2WAY Tonight," Vance said his focus remains on U.S. candidates ahead of the midterms, Politico reported.

"The president has the most effective endorsement in American or international political history," Vance said. "I endorse American candidates, and that’s where I’m focused on in the midterms. So I’m not getting involved in Israeli elections."

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However, Vance made clear that his decision should not be interpreted as opposition to Netanyahu.

"I’m not anti-endorsing him. I’m not pro-endorsing him. I’m not getting involved in Israeli elections," the vice president added.

The comments come one day after Trump gave Netanyahu his "Complete and Total Endorsement" in a lengthy Truth Social post, praising the prime minister as a key U.S. ally and partner in confronting Iran.

"Bibi Netanyahu has been a Great Warrior Prime Minister, and an even greater Partner for Peace in combatting the Islamic Republic of Iran," Trump wrote.

TRUMP SAYS NETANYAHU NEEDS TO BE RE-ELECTED, OR ELSE US WILL HAVE TO 'FINISH THE JOB’ AGAINST IRAN ALONE

Trump said Netanyahu had remained strong despite intense political pressure.

"Please let this Letter serve to represent my Complete and Total Endorsement of Bibi Netanyahu in his upcoming Race for Re-Election as Prime Minister of Israel. BIBI NETANYAHU WILL NEVER LET YOU DOWN!" Trump said.

Netanyahu quickly welcomed the president's backing, thanking Trump for what he called his "extraordinary endorsement."

"President Trump, my friend Donald — thank you for your extraordinary endorsement," he said. "Israel has never had a greater friend in the White House. Together we will never let Iran's regime get nuclear weapons. Thank you for your clarity, courage and unwavering support."

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Vance's decision to stay out of Israel's election comes after he reportedly waded into another foreign political contest earlier this year.

The vice president previously traveled to Hungary in April, where he campaigned alongside then-Prime Minister Viktor Orban shortly before Orban lost his reelection bid, according to Politico.

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The White House could not immediately be reached by Fox News Digital for comment.

Thousands of sailors remain stranded near the Strait of Hormuz amid escalating attacks on commercial ships, the United Nations' top maritime official warned Sunday after Iran accused the U.S. military of using an international emergency radio channel to threaten civilian crews.

The warning also came amid reports that 24 ships had been attacked on the waterway over roughly two weeks, underscoring growing concerns about maritime safety in the region, according to Financial Times.

"The situation continues to be severe and critical when it comes to international shipping," International Maritime Organization (IMO) Secretary-General Arsenio Dominguez told Fox News Digital.

"There is a double blockade and too many vessels have been attacked, particularly in recent days.

'VAST MAJORITY' OF IRAN'S ATTEMPTED ATTACKS ON STRAIT OF HORMUZ ARE UNSUCCESSFUL, CENTCOM SPOKESMAN SAYS

"Seafarers have continued to perish in these attacks and around 6,000 seafarers remain trapped since the beginning of the conflict," he warned, adding that his message was not to transit the Strait of Hormuz or put seafarers at risk "until we have guarantees."

Dominguez's warning followed an Oct. 9 letter to the IMO in which Iran alleged that the U.S. military used VHF Channel 16, an internationally designated maritime distress and safety channel, to intimidate Iranian crews in the Persian Gulf.

"VHF Channel 16 has been repeatedly occupied for prolonged periods by the United States military forces operating in the Persian Gulf," the letter stated.

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"During such transmissions, Iranian seafarers have been addressed in Persian with threatening, abusive and provocative language and in certain instances urged to abandon their vessels."

In a statement to Fox News Digital, U.S. Central Command defended its enforcement of the naval blockade of Iranian ports.

"The U.S. naval blockade has been in place for months and is professionally communicated to all international mariners," CENTCOM said.

"Vessels that refuse to comply with blockade enforcement receive multiple warnings, with ample opportunity to comply.

"American forces remain highly vigilant, focused and professional while fully enforcing the naval blockade against Iran."

Iran's complaint was submitted by Seyed Ali Mousavi and its ambassador to the IMO and circulated to member states on Oct. 9, according to a copy reviewed by Fox News Digital.

Tehran also accused American forces of turning the maritime safety channel into an "instrument of military intimidation and psychological pressure against civilian crews."

The letter cited commercial vessels, shipping companies and maritime operators but provided no recordings, transcripts or specific details of the alleged exchanges. Fox News Digital could not independently verify the accusations.

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"Seafarers are not trained for combat, and they are not guilty of any conflicts that are happening around the world," Dominguez said.

"And we have seen this in several parts of the world where Channel 16, that should not be used for this kind of communication, starts receiving messages that may be perceived as actually threatening or that are outside the remit of why it was created."

Iran also asked the IMO to raise its allegations with member states and relevant international organizations, potentially including the International Telecommunication Union.

Dominguez said the IMO could review its regulations and procedures to determine whether stronger safeguards are needed, though he did not announce a formal investigation.

"Our role here at IMO is that when those situations take place, we will then look into any technical measures or any operational aspects that we may need to clarify further within our regulatory framework," he said, stressing that member states have equal rights to raise concerns, regardless of the conflict.

"We have a responsibility, and I have a duty as well, to circulate letters and notes that the countries actually put forward when they're also being affected."

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"We take all that information, meet at the level of different meetings of the organization and have the discussions," Dominguez added.

"If it's demonstrated that we probably need to improve our rules in order to avoid communications issues, or that we need to enhance the knowledge of how these channels should be used, that is a role for us."

The IMO had recorded 100 confirmed maritime incidents across the region as of Oct. 9, with 24 seafarers killed since the conflict began Feb. 28. Dominguez also warned that fraudulent ship registrations and false flags have become major contributors to the danger.

"What we've also seen right now is an increase in fraudulent registries with false flags that are taking the risk and acting as shuttle tankers in order to bring goods in and out," he said. "That's one of the reasons that we're seeing an escalation.

"And it's the irresponsible shipowners that are taking the risk in order to actually be able to trade and move some of the goods and the cargoes."

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"For me, any single case, any vessel that is attacked, any life of a seafarer that is lost, is a critical situation for me, because they are all relevant, they are all important."

Despite the confrontation, Dominguez said diplomatic channels with Iran remain open, though he has no direct contact with the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps.

"I have communications with all the member states of IMO, and that includes the Islamic Republic of Iran," he said.

"Of course, that's through the diplomatic channels. I don't have direct contact with the IRGC.

"I have conversations with them and they respond to my messages. You know, the information flows. What is difficult is to get final decisions because of the conflict that is ongoing."

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Fox News Digital has reached out to the Iranian Embassy for comment.

One of Saudi Arabia’s most iconic skyscrapers ordered office workers to stay home Sunday as escalating attacks by Iran-backed Houthi rebels rattled the capital of Riyadh amid fears of a widening Middle East conflict.

The move came after the Saudi-led coalition said it intercepted two drones in the Riyadh area, a third over the Eastern Province and two ballistic missiles in southern Saudi Arabia overnight, after authorities had earlier issued a threat alert in the capital, also shared on X.

Management at the 99-story Kingdom Centre, a landmark on Riyadh's skyline, ordered office employees to work remotely until further notice, according to reporting by Agence France-Presse (AFP).

The directive affects a building whose tenants include major international financial institutions such as Merrill Lynch, consulting giant McKinsey & Company and the International Monetary Fund.

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"Please be advised that remote working arrangements are mandatory for all office employees at Kingdom Centre, effective immediately and until further notice," building management said in an email obtained by AFP.

Employees were instructed not to report back to their offices. The shopping mall at the base of the tower, however, remained open to the public.

Management did not specify a reason for the directive, but it came as repeated missile and drone attacks by Yemen's Houthis disrupted the Saudi capital.

The security concerns also follow a deadly Oct. 10 attack on King Khalid International Airport that killed 13 people and wounded more than 300 others.

As previously reported by Fox News Digital, another strike the following day killed one person and injured 11.

Airport operations have been severely disrupted, while schools in Riyadh have extended remote learning measures amid continued security threats.

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The mounting crisis comes as Saudi Arabia's military reported two deaths in a helicopter crash near its southern border with Yemen.

Maj. Gen. Turki al-Maliki, spokesperson for the Saudi-led coalition, said Sunday that an AH-6i reconnaissance helicopter crashed in the Najran region because of a technical malfunction, killing both crew members.

Saudi civil defense authorities also reported Sunday that six people were injured when a hostile projectile struck a residential neighborhood in Najran, damaging three homes and three vehicles.

Meanwhile, Egypt moved toward potentially providing military assistance to Saudi Arabia as the kingdom confronts the growing Houthi threat.

Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el-Sissi requested an emergency parliamentary session to authorize defensive military support for Saudi Arabia if requested by Riyadh, Reuters reported.

Lawmakers were expected to continue discussions Monday.

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The Egyptian presidency said Cairo was prepared to provide Saudi Arabia with necessary support to defend its security, stability, territorial integrity and Islamic holy sites.

The statement followed a meeting of Egypt's National Defense Council chaired by el-Sissi and attended by senior government and military officials.

Egyptian Foreign Minister Badr Abdelatty also spoke with Saudi Foreign Minister Prince Faisal bin Farhan about regional developments and the importance of de-escalation, according to a post on X.

The potential involvement of Egypt, which has one of the Arab world's largest militaries, could significantly expand the regional response to the Houthis.

The Iran-backed group now controls Yemen's capital, Sanaa, and much of the country's north.

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Fighting with the Saudi-led coalition, which supports Yemen's internationally recognized government, has intensified amid the broader U.S.-Israeli conflict with Iran.

The "vast majority" of Iran's attempted attacks on shipping in the Strait of Hormuz are "unsuccessful" as the key waterway remains open for transit, U.S. Central Command spokesperson and U.S. Navy Capt. Tim Hawkins told Fox News Digital this week.

Hawkins spoke after CENTCOM said the GFS Pride, a Singapore-flagged, Cyprus-owned container ship was hit by an Iranian projectile in the Strait of Hormuz Wednesday and sunk while being towed ashore due to a fire on board the ship.

"The vast majority of Iran's attempted attacks on innocent civilian mariners transiting an international waterway, being the Strait of Hormuz, they are unsuccessful," Hawkins said. 

"As a matter of fact, the U.S. military has assisted in providing coordinated protection for thousands of ships that have safely transited.

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"That translates to about 97% of the ships that have sought to transit the Strait of Hormuz have done so successfully without being hit by an Iranian projectile.

"But let's be clear here. What the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps of Iran is doing is unjustified, and it's also unsuccessful because they are not achieving their objective of closing the Strait of Hormuz," he added. 

"It is open, it is available for transit and we've seen that transit continue this very day."

In an update Friday from CENTCOM Commander Adm. Brad Cooper, he said, "In recent days and months, we have seen the IRGC continually attack merchant ships transiting the Strait of Hormuz, and, in many cases, kill innocent civilian mariners.

"The International Maritime Organization reports that more than 20 civilian mariners have been killed by Iran's attacks against commercial shipping since February," Cooper continued.

"Over the last seven days alone, about 400 merchant ships have sailed through the Strait. U.S. forces have also assisted Gulf partners in shipping over 100 million barrels of crude oil during the same period, adding to the more than 1.3 billion barrels of crude we have helped regional allies ship through the Strait in recent months."

Hawkins also told Fox News Digital he thinks "every American should be proud of American service members who are serving in the Middle East, in particular focusing on doing two things at once as it relates to Iran.

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"And one is helping maintain flow through the Strait of Hormuz in the form of commercial vessels despite Iran's unjustified aggression," Hawkins said, noting that thousands of ships have crossed through the waterway over the last few months, "in addition to more than 1 billion barrels of crude oil.

"At the same time that they are encouraging traffic flow in support of international shipping, they are maintaining a steel wall blockade against Iran. There have been no exports or imports to Iran without U.S. permission in the form of allowing humanitarian ships to go through," Hawkins continued. 

"So, that shows the precision, dedication and professionalism of our troops who are executing this complex mission — not just one — but two at the same time."

More than 50,000 U.S. service members are stationed across the Middle East, according to Hawkins.

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"They are highly vigilant, they are highly dedicated and they're serving with courage and bravery. And they're doing so alongside our regional allies and partners. It shouldn't be forgotten that we continue to stand shoulder to shoulder with our Gulf allies and partners to help them defend their airspace from unjustified and unwarranted attacks from Iran, and we have been highly successful in working together. And will continue to do that," he said.

Fox News' Liz Friden contributed to this report.

The Houthis are increasingly operating independently of Tehran, posing a "clear and very present danger" on the international stage as the terror group rearms and sharpens its strike capabilities, a former U.S. envoy warned Thursday.

The warning came amid deadly missile and drone attacks on Saudi Arabia in recent days and growing threats to global shipping routes and critical Middle East infrastructure in the run-up. 

Turki al-Maliki, spokesperson for the Saudi-led coalition in Yemen, also confirmed Thursday that Houthi attacks on King Khalid International Airport in Riyadh had killed 17 and injured 333 others from Oct. 7-11.

Speaking at a news conference in Riyadh, al-Maliki said the Oct. 10 attack involved 10 drones, missiles and other projectiles. 

"King Khalid International Airport has been subjected to 20 attacks since (Oct. 1)," he noted.

Tim Lenderking, who served as U.S. special envoy for Yemen from 2021 to 2025 and was posted to Saudi Arabia from 2013 to 2016, said Saudi officials had warned more than a decade ago that the Houthis would become a major threat, a prediction he says has now materialized.

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"The Saudis were very clear to our leaders that they viewed the Houthis as a major threat," Lenderking said of his time in the kingdom a decade ago.

At the time, he said, the group was "quietly building up their capability, burnishing their narrative of why they sought to lead Yemen as a messianic group, as a group from northern Yemen, with an agenda, with a mission."

The Houthis had emerged as a religious and political movement in Yemen in the 1990s, but their ties to Iran developed into a military partnership after 2014, when Tehran expanded its assistance and training during Yemen's civil war.

"The Houthis don't really need the Iranians anymore," Lenderking, a former acting assistant secretary for Near Eastern affairs at the U.S. State Department, continued, adding it was still "a very important relationship that "enabled the Houthis to become the powerful force that they are."

Lenderking, now a distinguished diplomatic fellow at the Middle East Institute (MEI), said, over time, the Houthis had developed their own "homegrown indigenous capability" as they capitalized on any disunity across the Gulf region.

Saturday's missile and drone attack on King Khalid International Airport in Riyadh raised concerns that President Donald Trump could be drawn into a broader regional conflict as Saudi Arabia seeks U.S. assistance. 

Asked whether the U.S. would defend Saudi Arabia against further attacks, Trump said, "You'll find out soon."

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Speaking at an MEI briefing, Lenderking said the Houthis' sophisticated weapons and targeting capabilities have transformed the group from a regional insurgency into an international security threat.

"They have the capability to hit around the region, including up into the northern reaches of the Red Sea. So, this is a regional problem, and given the fact that the Houthis control the west coast of Yemen," Lenderking said.

"It's an international problem now." 

Lenderking cited the precision of the Riyadh airport attack as evidence of the Houthis' growing capabilities compared with earlier strikes during the Gaza conflict.

"They can hit things better. Now, they are hitting Terminal Four of Riyadh Airport, very specifically. It's a clear and very present danger," he said.

The Houthis reportedly launched multiple drones followed by cruise and ballistic missiles that traveled more than 620 miles to Riyadh, prompting an investigation into possible Saudi air defense failures, according to The Associated Press, citing regional officials.

Saudi forces intercepted two more ballistic missiles targeting Riyadh on Monday. On Tuesday, a Houthi strike caused damage to Aramco's headquarters in Dhahran, sparking a fire that spread across several floors, Reuters reported.

Lenderking said the Houthis have built extensive weapons supply chains, smuggling networks and domestic financing operations that allow them to sustain attacks without relying solely on Tehran.

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"They get a lot of supplies off the open market through the internet, through commercial exchanges. They have a very well entrenched smuggling network, from big boats onto small boats, onto tiny boats, on the pack animals, on people's backs.

"They are able to move things undetected through government terrain, even through various borders and with a lot of wide open space there. They are constantly moving, building, resupplying, restocking, innovating."

The group's self-sufficiency also extends to financing. Lenderking said the Houthis generate revenue through black-market oil sales, taxation and extortion while also forcing families to provide recruits, allowing the group to continue fighting even if Iranian assistance is cut off.

"They have had support from Iran over the years, so they have money in the bank from that," Lenderking said. 

"They relied on sales of black market oil in the past. They extort Yemeni transport companies, businesses. They tax people in areas that they control. They force many families to offer up a son to fight on the front lines."

The Houthis' expanding arsenal has raised concerns about potential Chinese involvement in their weapons supply networks.

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Yemen's government has accused the rebels of seeking Chinese components for medium-range ballistic missiles, raising concerns about the group's access to advanced military technology.

"There is a Chinese connection here that's very detrimental," Lenderking warned, adding that front companies have helped the group obtain weapons through commercial channels.

Lenderking warned that the Houthis could also target Saudi energy facilities, pipelines and desalination plants, infrastructure critical to the kingdom's economy and water supply. 

"The Houthis have hit pipelines," he said. "They have diesel plants and other energy infrastructure in their sights."

Attacks on such facilities could disrupt global energy markets, maritime commerce and regional stability.

The Houthis also control Yemen's western coastline along the Red Sea, a vital shipping corridor connecting Europe and Asia.

With the rebels now capable of striking targets hundreds of miles away, Lenderking warned that the threat extends far beyond Yemen's borders.

"One blast at Riyadh Airport is a huge statement," the expert said.

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"That's why I come back to the fact that this is an international conflict," he said, adding that "immediate action is required."