US CENTCOM CDR: Strait of Hormuz Controlled by US & Regional Partners + Report: Iran Providing Targeting Intelligence to Houthis + Ukraine & EU to Establish Separate Diplomatic Track with Russia to End War

For review:

1. Many of the recent drone & missile attacks by Yemen's Iran-backed Houthi terrorists on Saudi Arabia are based on targeting intelligence provided by the Islamic regime, The Wall Street Journal reported on Saturday.

2. Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el-Sissi said on Saturday Egypt would take any measures necessary to defend Saudi Arabia “if requested,” amid escalating Houthi attacks on the kingdom, and parliament announced an emergency session on Sunday.

3. Adm. Brad Cooper, head of the US military’s Central Command, said in a video statement Saturday that “there are reports” that Tehran’s regional proxies were withholding payments to fighters to “funnel money back” to Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps.

He also said the “Strait of Hormuz is controlled by the United States and our regional partners, not Iran,” even as at least one tanker was reportedly struck in the key waterway.

4. Four Hamas operatives, including a terrorist who invaded Israel during the October 7 onslaught, were killed in recent strikes in the Gaza Strip, the Israeli military announced Saturday.

5. The U.S. Army laid out its plans to prepare for a prolonged fight in the Pacific along the First Island Chain in the service’s new warfighting guidance released this month.

6. Ukraine is negotiating with its European partners to establish a separate European track for dialogue with Russia aimed at achieving a diplomatic settlement to the war, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said.