TAIZ, Yemen/DUBAI: Yemen's Iran-aligned Houthis launched a new attack on Saudi Arabia on Monday and Gulf Arab states postponed planned talks with Iran, underscoring fears that the Middle East conflict could spread further and threaten global oil supplies. US President Donald Trump said he was open to holding talks with Iran, after weeks of saying it was too early to make a deal with Tehran to end the Middle East war, signalling a possible diplomatic opening despite the widening regional tensions.
"The failing Nation of Iran wants to make a deal, quickly and badly. I will determine whether or not the U.S.A. will choose to engage -- The concept of which we are open to," Trump wrote on Truth Social.
Trump made the comments after the cancellation of the planned Gulf-Iran meeting and as the Houthis expanded military operations beyond Yemen, adding to concerns over the security of energy infrastructure and shipping routes across the region. The Houthis said they fired dozens of missiles and drones at a military airbase in Khamis Mushait in southern Saudi Arabia, targeting aircraft hangars, radar systems, runways and ammunition depots in retaliation for Saudi airstrikes in Yemen.
Saudi authorities issued emergency alerts there and in three other southern cities which have previously come under Houthi fire.Oman had been due to host a meeting on Monday with Iran and Gulf states to discuss negotiations aimed at reopening Hormuz, the world's most important oil shipping lane, largely closed since the US and Israel attacked Iran at the end of February. But Oman's Foreign Minister Sayyid Badr Albusaidi announced overnight that the meeting had been postponed.
Iran said the postponement was at the request of Saudi Arabia.Iran meanwhile published a list of 77 ships it said had violated its operating protocols in Hormuz and warned they could face fines, detention or confiscation on future transits. US Energy Secretary Chris Wright said on Monday the average number of ships crossing the strait covertly with US support was increasing. But independent monitors have suggested oil flows could have dropped off this month since fighting intensified again after a quiet August.
The renewed Yemen conflict poses another challenge for Trump, who faces pressure from Gulf allies to help contain the Houthis but has sought to avoid opening a major new front in the regional war. Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman discussed regional developments with US Central Command chief Admiral Brad Cooper in Jeddah on Monday, Saudi state media said, amid escalating hostilities with Yemen's Iran-aligned Houthis.
The meeting comes days after three sources familiar with the matter told Trump did not agree to US strikes on the group, but Washington told Riyadh it would provide intelligence-sharing and targeting assistance, the sources added.Iran's nuclear chief was blocked from attending an annual conference on Monday at the headquarters of the UN's nuclear agency in Vienna after US pressure, both Washington and Tehran said.
US Energy Secretary Chris Wright confirmed to reporters that Washington had applied pressure to stop Mohammad Eslami from entering Austria, saying "he's a sanctioned individual and we don't want sanctioned individuals evading their sanctions". "He asked for a waiver of the sanctions and it was denied." Iranian state TV said Eslami and a delegation "took a regular flight to Vienna on Saturday, but were blocked on the way because of obstructions by the United States".Behrouz Kamalvandi, a senior official from Iran's nuclear agency, accused the US of "bullying political pressure" and told The Austrian foreign ministry told Iran's representative to the agency, Reza Najafi, called UN sanctions against Eslami an "unfounded narrative of certain Western states".
Tehran summoned Austria's charge d'affaires in response to the decision to bar Eslami. Iran's foreign ministry spokesperson said reports of activity at the country's Pickaxe Mountain (Kolang Kouh) were baseless, after US President Donald Trump said the United States was monitoring activity there. Trump had said last week that the US could hit Pickaxe Mountain and urged Iran to be cautious.
EU chief Ursula von der Leyen condemned "relentless attacks" by Iranian-backed armed groups in the Gulf, following the latest strikes by Yemen's Houthis against Saudi military targets. Beijing rejected "groundless" reports that Chinese entities supplied Tehran with satellite images of a military base housing US troops in Jordan, before and after an Iranian strike killed three American soldiers. The reports by the Wall Street Journal over the weekend related to July 17 missile strikes launched by Iran on the Muwaffaq Salti Air Base in Jordan.
US President Donald Trump sought to downplay the reports, which could deepen tensions ahead of a planned visit by Chinese leader Xi Jinping to the White House on September 24."You know, when they say that China spies on us, I say you're right, and we spy on them too," Trump told reporters aboard Air Force One on Sunday. They basically do what we do," he said.President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi is set to welcome Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman to Egypt on Tuesday, the presidency said, against the backdrop of fighting between the Houthis and Yemen's Saudi-backed government.
The presidency said there would be "a bilateral meeting between the two leaders". The Houthis said on Monday that Saudi Arabia targeted Yemen with 54 strikes over 24 hours, as the Iran-backed group made rapid gains on the Red Sea coast. Iran denied any involvement in the country's revived civil war.