It came after U.S. ally Riyadh struck Houthi military targets, following the Yemeni group announcing a maritime blockade of the top oil producer and hitting its ships in the Red Sea.
Meanwhile, the U.S. and Iran showed no sign of backing away from their conflict after as they continue to trade strikes.
With fighting flaring again and diplomacy uncertain, both sides made moves suggesting an escalation was possible.
Earlier on Friday (July 24, 2026), U.S. President Donald Trump described negotiations with Iran as “by far the most serious that we’ve seen”.
Trump added that he’s “not in a hurry” to end the war.
Yemen’s Iran-backed Houthi rebels claimed a missile attack on the southern Saudi city of Jizan on Saturday (July 25, 2026) , after vowing retaliation against the kingdom for attacks this week. It came after U.S. ally Riyadh struck Houthi military targets, following the Yemeni group announcing a maritime blockade of the top oil producer and hitting its ships in the Red Sea.
The flare-up marks a new front of the West Asia war that has engulfed the region following U.S.-Israeli strikes on Tehran in February, and comes on top of Iran’s parallel blockade of the Strait of Hormuz, Riyadh’s only other maritime route.
Meanwhile, the U.S. and Iran showed no sign of backing away from their conflict after as they continue to trade strikes. With fighting flaring again and diplomacy uncertain, both sides made moves suggesting an escalation was possible. Earlier on Friday (July 24, 2026), U.S. President Donald Trump described negotiations with Iran as “by far the most serious that we’ve seen”. Trump added that he’s “not in a hurry” to end the war. U.S.
Vowing that Iran “will not bow to U.S.” bullying, Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi noted ongoing discussions with two global powers often at odds with Americans — China and Russia — and warned in an interview with the semiofficial news outlet Tasnim that the Islamic Republic is “neither intimidated by threats nor will we yield to pressure.”
