President Donald Trump said Friday that the United States is "locked and loaded" to respond if Iran kills protesters, after cost-of-living demonstrations in the country turned deadly.

Protesters and security forces clashed in several Iranian cities Thursday with six reported killed in the first deaths since the unrest escalated.

Yemen's Hadramawt province has launched an operation to "peacefully" take back military sites after a sweeping advance by UAE-backed separatists, its governor said on Friday.

"This operation is not a declaration of war, nor an attempt to escalate tensions," Salem Al-Khanbashi said in a statement reported by the official Saba Net news agency, shortly after he was also appointed to lead the Saudi-backed National Shield forces in Hadramawt.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky on Thursday said Russia was carrying the near four-year war "into the New Year" with more than 200 drones fired at Ukraine, mainly targeting energy infrastructure.

Separatists from Yemen's Southern Transitional Council said on Thursday that Saudi-aligned government forces would enter territories seized by the UAE-backed group, in a step that appeared unlikely to satisfy Riyadh after it repeatedly demanded their full withdrawal.

Several dozen people are presumed dead and around 100 injured after a fire ripped through a crowded bar in the luxury Swiss ski resort town of Crans-Montana, police said early Thursday.

Iran's prosecutor general said on Wednesday that economic protests that had gripped the country were legitimate, but any attempt to create insecurity would be met with a "decisive response".

Russia's defense ministry published a video Wednesday of a downed drone that it says Ukraine launched at President Vladimir Putin's residence in north-west Russia this week -- a claim Kyiv has denied as a "lie."

The EU's top diplomat accused Russia Wednesday of pushing "unfounded claims" that Ukraine fired drones at a residence of President Vladimir Putin, branding the allegation a "deliberate distraction" from peace efforts.

The United Arab Emirates announced on Tuesday the withdrawal of its remaining forces in Yemen after Saudi Arabia earlier set a 24-hour deadline for their departure.

"The Ministry of Defense announces the termination of the remaining counterterrorism teams in Yemen," a statement from the ministry said, adding that Abu Dhabi made the move "of its own volition, ensuring the safety of its personnel, and in coordination with relevant partners."

The UAE denied shipping weapons to Yemeni separatists on Tuesday after Saudi-led forces said they had bombed arms sent by Abu Dhabi.

"The shipment in question did not contain any weapons, and the vehicles unloaded were not intended for any Yemeni party," government spokesperson Afra Al Hameli wrote on X, adding the arrival of the shipment had been coordinated with Riyadh.