Iraq is engaged in direct talks with the US to exempt some Iraqi airports from US sanctions targeting Iranian airlines operating flights to regional hubs, officials said.

The talks aim to secure an exemption “to allow flights to resume on humanitarian grounds related to medical treatment, education, religious visits, and interests of civilians," Iraqi Prime Minister Ali al-Zaidi's office said in a statement on Facebook.

​​​​​​​Earlier this week, US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said operations of Iranian airlines worldwide would come to a halt as of September 23 under new sanctions. As part of the measure, Iranian flights were barred from operating in regional countries, including Oman, the UAE and Iraq.

Artillery fire hits areas in Nabatieh, Tyre districts as Lebanese army clears unexploded Israeli bombs.

Yemeni government forces say they struck Houthi positions and supply lines in the southwestern province of Taiz.

Military spokesman Majid Abdullah al-Nazili published footage on US social media platform X that he said showed strikes on Houthi fighters and supply routes in Dhubab and other parts of Taiz.

The Wall Street Journal, citing US officials, reports that US President Donald Trump has rejected Iran’s proposal for a seven-day ceasefire and told aides he expects US strikes on Iran to resume after the November midterm elections.

Under Tehran’s proposal, the Strait of Hormuz would reopen, and nuclear talks would resume in exchange for Washington lifting its blockade of Iranian ports.

Trump has publicly said Iran is seeking a deal, but privately remains sceptical that Tehran would meet US demands, according to the WSJ report.

The Saudi-led coalition says it intercepted a ballistic missile launched by Yemen’s Houthis towards Khamis Mushait in southwestern Saudi Arabia.

The interception comes amid renewed fighting between Saudi Arabia and the Houthis.

The European Union’s energy chief has warned that the Iran war is driving an energy “price crisis” across the bloc as disruptions put pressure on oil and gas markets, Reuters reported, citing a letter to EU energy ministers.

European Commissioner for Energy and Housing Dan Jorgensen urged member states to consider measures to curb gas and electricity demand and support gas storage levels for as long as necessary.

“We are facing a price crisis linking to a supply crisis,” Jorgensen wrote, calling on governments to take or maintain steps that could sustain gas storage injections or reduce energy consumption.

Yemen's Saudi-led coalition said early on Saturday it had intercepted two drones launched by the Houthis towards the Saudi capital Riyadh.

The coalition posted on X that it was monitoring missile threats and drones launched at the kingdom.

Saudi civil defence sent alerts overnight for Khamis Mushait and Abha, but not for the capital.

Bahrain has rejected any permit or fee system for passage through the Strait of Hormuz, saying transit through the international waterway cannot be suspended or subjected to unilateral conditions.

Foreign Minister Abdullatif bin Rashid Al Zayani said international law guarantees the right of transit through the strait for vessels of all states.

“The kingdom categorically rejects any permit or fee regime imposed on passage,” Al Zayani told the 81st UN General Assembly in New York.

Iran has warned that air travel across the region could be disrupted if Iranian airlines continue to be denied access to flights and airport services.

Tehran will not accept regional countries “aligning themselves with hostile US policies against Iran,” Mohammad Mokhber, a senior adviser to Iran’s supreme leader, said in a post on US social media company X.

“Our strategy on this matter is clear: Either air travel in the region is available to everyone or to no one,” said Mokhber.

UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres has met Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian and stressed the need to resolve the war in the Middle East through dialogue and negotiations.

"The Secretary-General stressed the urgent need to resolve the conflict in the Middle East through dialogue and negotiations, with full respect for international law, including international navigational rights and freedoms in and around the Strait of Hormuz," a UN statement said on Friday.

Guterres also reaffirmed the UN's commitment to "support all diplomatic efforts."