A Saudi-led military coalition said Saturday it intercepted and destroyed two drones launched by Yemen’s Houthi rebels as tensions continued across the Middle East, while Iranian authorities reported that five vessels had struck naval mines in the Strait of Hormuz within approximately 24 hours.

The developments come as the war involving the United States, Israel and Iran continues to threaten commercial shipping and regional security. The latest reported incidents in the Strait of Hormuz have raised further concerns about the safety of one of the world’s most important maritime trade routes.

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The coalition said the two drones were intercepted over Riyadh and southern regions of Saudi Arabia. Meanwhile, Iran’s navy and Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps reported multiple tanker incidents in the Strait of Hormuz, including a vessel that allegedly caught fire after striking a naval mine Saturday.

Saudi coalition intercepts Houthi drones

The Saudi-led coalition fighting the Houthis in Yemen announced Saturday that its air defenses intercepted and destroyed two unmanned aerial vehicles launched by the Iran-backed group.

Coalition spokesman Maj. Gen. Turki al-Maliki said the drones were intercepted in Riyadh and southern regions of Saudi Arabia, according to the Saudi Press Agency.

The announcement did not identify the intended targets or provide information about potential casualties or damage.

The interceptions come amid escalating tensions between Saudi Arabia and the Houthis, who have increased their attacks on Saudi territory and energy infrastructure.

On Friday, Houthi military spokesman Yahya Saree claimed the group launched missile attacks targeting Riyadh’s airport and a pumping station connected to Saudi Arabia’s East-West Pipeline. The claims had not been independently verified, and Saudi authorities had not publicly confirmed the reported damage at the time of the latest reporting.

The pipeline is an important alternative export route for Saudi crude oil, allowing shipments to reach the Red Sea without passing through the Strait of Hormuz.

Iran reports five ships hit mines in Hormuz

Separately, Iranian authorities reported that five vessels struck naval mines in the Strait of Hormuz within approximately 24 hours, with several reportedly catching fire.

Iran’s navy said Saturday that an oil tanker caught fire after hitting a naval mine in the eastern portion of the strait. Iranian state media reported that the vessel was operating in an area Tehran had designated as restricted.

The Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps also reported that two additional tankers had exploded and caught fire after striking mines while traveling through what Iranian authorities described as unauthorized waters.

The reports followed earlier Iranian claims that two other tankers had struck mines in the waterway. The vessels’ identities, ownership and the extent of the reported damage have not been independently established.

Reuters reported Saturday that it could not immediately verify the Iranian navy’s account of the latest tanker incident.

Iran has imposed restrictions on vessels attempting to pass through the strait and has repeatedly accused ships of violating its navigation requirements. The United States, meanwhile, has maintained that commercial shipping should be able to transit the international waterway.

The U.S. military has said it cleared the strait’s main shipping routes of mines and that the waterway is open for commercial traffic. However, the continuing reports of attacks and maritime incidents have left shipping operators facing significant security concerns.

UN warns of growing danger to commercial shipping

The latest incidents come as the United Nations raises concerns about the growing number of attacks and security threats facing commercial vessels in the region.

Khaled Khiari, the U.N. assistant secretary-general for the Middle East, Asia and the Pacific, told the U.N. Security Council on Friday that at least 25 seafarers had been killed in and around the Strait of Hormuz since the war began in February.

The figures covered the period through Nov. 11.

“This situation cannot be allowed to become the new normal,” Khiari said, calling for the full restoration of maritime navigation in the region.

The International Maritime Organization recorded 136 security incidents involving vessels in the Strait of Hormuz and the wider Middle East between March 1 and Nov. 11. October accounted for 35 incidents, the highest monthly total since the conflict began, while another 10 were recorded in November through Nov. 11.

The Strait of Hormuz connects the Persian Gulf with the Gulf of Oman and serves as a critical route for international oil and gas shipments. Disruptions to shipping through the narrow waterway can have significant consequences for global energy supplies and transportation costs.

Shipping activity remains well below prewar levels. The U.K. Maritime Trade Operations agency reported that vessel traffic through the strait was approximately 65% below levels recorded before the conflict.

Despite diplomatic efforts to reduce tensions, the latest drone interceptions in Saudi Arabia and reported tanker incidents in the Strait of Hormuz highlight the continuing threat to regional security and international shipping.

With the investigation into the reported mine strikes ongoing and military activity continuing across the region, commercial vessels remain exposed to an increasingly dangerous operating environment.

The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) is investigating contractor L3Harris Technologies after a telecommunications failure disrupted air traffic control systems across the country, forcing a nationwide ground stop Friday and leaving thousands of travelers facing cancellations and delays.

Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy identified L3Harris as the contractor performing maintenance at a remote FAA facility when the outage occurred. Officials are investigating whether an error during the maintenance work or faulty equipment caused the failure, which disrupted communications between air traffic controllers and pilots and affected radar systems.

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More than 4,100 flights were canceled Saturday, according to FlightAware data cited by The Associated Press. That followed 9,132 cancellations Friday, according to an earlier FlightAware update reported by ABC News. The figures continued changing Saturday as airlines worked to restore their schedules.

The FAA lifted the nationwide ground stop at approximately 8:15 p.m. Eastern time Friday. Although departures have resumed, airlines are still working to reposition aircraft and crews and accommodate passengers whose travel plans were disrupted.

L3Harris contractor work under investigation

During a news conference Saturday, Duffy outlined what officials believe led to the failure. A contractor was performing maintenance at a remote FAA facility, replacing older copper telecommunications lines with fiber-optic connections.

Duffy identified the contractor as L3Harris, which he described as the FAA’s longtime telecommunications provider. He said the work involved a router that began overwhelming other parts of the air traffic control network.

“Either through contractor error or a faulty piece of equipment, that router that was being replaced as we switched from copper to fiber, it started flooding other routers in our air traffic control system,” Duffy said.

He said the system experienced more than 1,000 connection attempts every four to five seconds, disrupting communications with aircraft and causing problems with radar feeds.

Duffy said officials are investigating whether the problem resulted from contractor error or a faulty router.

“We haven’t determined what the fault was,” he said.

L3Harris had not responded to a request for comment at the time of the latest reporting. Officials have not determined that the company was responsible for the outage.

The FAA initially confirmed Friday that it had issued a nationwide ground stop because of communication problems affecting multiple Air Route Traffic Control Centers.

In its official statement, the agency said it had issued the ground stop following communication issues affecting multiple centers and that FAA technicians were investigating.

Federal officials have also addressed concerns about a possible cyberattack or interference from the FAA’s newer technology. Duffy said the agency does not believe the incident was caused by a cyberattack after technicians isolated the work being performed at the remote facility.

He also said the FAA’s new Strategic Management of Airspace (SMART) system was not connected to the equipment involved in the failure.

Thousands of cancellations continue as airlines recover

The disruption began Friday at approximately 3:36 p.m. Eastern time after air traffic control centers experienced instability involving radar and communications systems.

Duffy said more than 3,500 aircraft were in the air when the FAA issued the ground stop. Air traffic controllers used established safety procedures to guide aircraft to the ground.

The FAA lifted the restriction at approximately 8:15 p.m. Eastern time, allowing departures to resume. However, the disruption left aircraft and flight crews out of position, creating additional cancellations and delays Saturday.

FlightAware reported more than 4,100 cancellations Saturday, while Cirium reported more than 3,200, according to The Associated Press. The difference reflects separate flight-tracking estimates.

Transportation officials acknowledged that restoring normal operations would take time. FAA Administrator Bryan Bedford said Saturday that the nation’s flight schedule should return to normal by the end of Sunday, although additional cancellations and delays were expected.

Duffy said operations were slowly returning to normal Saturday as airlines worked to reposition aircraft and crews.

“You will continue to see some delays and cancellations as carriers reschedule flights and reposition aircraft/crews where they are needed most,” Duffy said in a statement posted Saturday.

Passengers scheduled to travel throughout the weekend should check directly with their airlines for updated departure times and possible cancellations.

Duffy calls for additional funding to modernize air traffic control

The outage has renewed scrutiny of the country’s aging air traffic control infrastructure and the government’s efforts to modernize the system.

Duffy called on Congress to provide additional funding for a broader overhaul of the nation’s air traffic control network, arguing that outdated equipment remains vulnerable to technical failures.

“What we have is an incredibly old air traffic control system,” Duffy said during Friday’s news conference.

Congress has already approved $12.5 billion for modernization efforts, but Duffy said that funding represents only part of the broader project.

The transportation secretary also warned that additional disruptions could occur if the system is not upgraded.

“We didn’t think we would have this kind of outage. We did,” Duffy said Friday. “We were able to review what went wrong, and then reboot the system and go. But you will have more of these.”

For now, the FAA has restored operations following Friday’s ground stop, but the investigation into the equipment failure and L3Harris’ role in the maintenance work continues. Airlines are still working to return to normal schedules, with passengers facing additional disruptions throughout the weekend.