Tehran-backed Houthi rebels claimed responsibility for a missile attack on Saudi Arabia on Saturday, adding to growing tensions across the Middle East as US President Donald Trump considered whether to launch a major new operation against Iran.
The Houthis said a missile strike had hit the southern Saudi city of Jizan and caused fires. Saudi authorities did not immediately confirm the claim, although the civil defence agency issued warnings to residents in Jizan and Yanbu early in the day.
The reported attack followed Saudi-led coalition strikes on Houthi military positions in Yemen on Friday. The coalition said the operation targeted sites linked to attacks on commercial shipping in the Red Sea.
The Houthis had accused Riyadh of a “dangerous escalation” after the strikes. The group has also announced a maritime blockade targeting the world’s biggest oil exporter and claimed attacks on Saudi-linked vessels. Saudi Arabia confirmed one attack on a ship in the Red Sea earlier this week.
A Yemeni security source said a naval base in the port city of Hodeida and a military camp on Kamaran Island were among the sites hit by Saudi forces.
The latest exchange has opened another front in a conflict that has spread across the region since US and Israeli attacks on Iran began in February. Iran has also maintained pressure on the Strait of Hormuz, a vital global shipping route and Saudi Arabia’s main alternative maritime passage.
Trump said he had not yet decided whether to order a major attack on Iran, despite nearly two weeks of US strikes against Iranian military targets.
“We’re talking to them right now,” Trump told reporters at the White House, saying Tehran appeared to be taking negotiations more seriously. He warned Iran that failure to reach an agreement could result in a “much higher level” of strikes.
The US says its military campaign is aimed at preventing Iran from closing the Strait of Hormuz. Tehran has retaliated with attacks on US military facilities, with four American service members reportedly killed.
Iranian forces said they had targeted US military assets in Bahrain, Jordan and Kuwait. Iran’s Revolutionary Guards also claimed to have struck an Amazon data centre in Bahrain, though neither Amazon nor Bahraini authorities confirmed the allegation.
Air raid sirens sounded again in Bahrain early Saturday, with the interior ministry urging residents to seek shelter.
Trump also said Russia and China were not supplying Iran with military support, despite reports that both countries had provided intelligence to Tehran.
Diplomatic efforts continued as Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi met Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi in Kyrgyzstan. Beijing called for negotiations to resume and for measures aimed at reducing tensions in the Middle East and Gulf.
The diplomatic push comes as earlier efforts to end the conflict remain stalled over the Strait of Hormuz, leaving the region facing the prospect of further military escalation.
