Iran and US Exchange Threats as Houthi Strikes on Riyadh Deepen Regional Conflict

Iran and the United States traded fresh threats on Sunday, as Houthi attacks on Saudi Arabia escalated a conflict that has already disrupted global energy supplies and deepened Iran's economic isolation.

President Donald Trump, in a phone call with a Fox News reporter, said Iran's leaders should make a deal, face economic ruin or be wiped out. He also indicated he would be open to meeting Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian, who is expected in New York this week for the United Nations General Assembly.

Earlier, Iran's military central command said any new attack would trigger sustained retaliation against US bases and interests, and that Washington's regional allies would be considered parties to the conflict. It said it had information that an attack was being prepared, without giving details.

The conflict, which began with US and Israeli strikes on February 28, has appeared stalemated for months, with neither side showing readiness for concessions. It has cratered swathes of Iran's economy and spilled over into new regional escalations.

On Saturday, Yemen's Iran-backed Houthi group launched missile and drone strikes at the Saudi capital after making sudden military gains in Yemen's reignited civil war earlier this month. Video showed a large plume of black smoke rising from the area of Riyadh's main international airport following overnight booms.

The US State Department issued a security alert citing the Houthi hostilities, warning of potential unforeseen escalation in the Middle East and advising Americans to exercise more vigilance and be aware of possible flight cancellations and airspace closures. Saudi Arabia did not comment on the incident, though a Saudi-led coalition fighting the Houthis said it had foiled other attacks on the kingdom.

The Houthi gains along the coast mean the group's forces now sit on the Bab el-Mandeb Strait, giving them easier control over shipping between the Red Sea and Asia and the ability to blockade the crucial waterway. With Iran already having blockaded most shipping in the Strait of Hormuz, the oil-rich Gulf's energy exports are now almost entirely cut off from global markets, adding pressure on oil prices. A US blockade of Iranian ports is meanwhile stopping Iran from selling its own oil, contributing to major problems in the Islamic Republic's economy.

Despite the economic damage, there is little sign of a return to the interim ceasefire agreement struck in June but which fell apart in July amid disputes over its terms. Iran reiterated on Sunday that it would not reopen the Strait of Hormuz until the terms of that June agreement, as it interpreted them, were met.

Iranian Parliament Speaker Mohammad Baqer Qalibaf said Iran would have to keep on fighting as well as negotiating, to push back its enemies and to consolidate any gains with diplomacy.