The Latest: Yemen rebels target Saudi airport, 26 wounded

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates – The Latest on Mideast developments amid rising tensions in the Persian Gulf region (all times local):

1:05 p.m.

The Saudi-led coalition in Yemen says 26 people have been wounded as Yemen's Houthi rebels targeted an airport in kingdom's southwestern town of Abha.

The attack on Wednesday comes as Japan's prime minister is expected in Iran to mediate between Tehran and Washington amid escalating tensions in the Persian Gulf regions.

Coalition spokesman Turki al-Malki says a projectile struck the arrival hall of Abha's airport in the southern part of the kingdom near its border with Yemen on Wednesday. That's according to Saudi Arabia's state-run Al-Ekhabriya news channel.

He says three women and two children are among the 26 hurt in the attack. Eight have been hospitalized and the rest sustained minor injuries. The Houthis earlier on Wednesday claimed they'd launched a cruise missile at the Abha airport.

Saudi Arabia has been at war against the Iranian-allied Houthis in Yemen since 2015. The kingdom accuses Iran of arming the rebels, which Iran denies.

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10:45 a.m.

A hard-line Iranian newspaper has printed a front page image showing the mushroom cloud of a nuclear blast, meant to criticize the Japanese prime minister's close ties with the U.S. ahead of his historic visit to Iran.

The daily Farheekhtegan, or Educated, followed it up with a large headline in both English and Farsi, saying: "How Can You Trust A War Criminal, Mr. Abe?"

The picture appeared to refer to America dropping atomic bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki at the end of World War II.

Hard-line news outlets in Iran immediately picked up the front page from the paper, published by students of Islamic Azad University, which has campuses across the nation.

On Wednesday, Abe will become the first Japanese prime minister to visit Iran since its 1979 Islamic Revolution.