A Saudi ship has been hit in the Red Sea sustaining minor damage to its hull, a Saudi transport official told state media, days after Yemen's Houthis announced a maritime blockade of Saudi Arabia.

"An official source at the Public Transport Authority stated that the vessel (NCC MASA), belonging to a Saudi company, was targeted while sailing in the Red Sea today... resulting in minor damage to the vessel's hull," Saudi's official SPA news agency said.

Sirens have sounded early on Saturday in Bahrain, where Iran has been conducting regular strikes, the interior ministry said.

"The siren has been sounded, Citizens and residents are urged to remain calm and head to the nearest safe place," the ministry said in a statement on X.

The US president says Xi Jinping and Vladimir Putin assured him they would not supply weapons to Iran, adding that any involvement would not be in their countries' interests.

Saudi Arabia has launched strikes on Yemen's Hudaida, Houthi group and Saudi-led coalition said, with a security source telling AFP news agency that Houthi sites were hit as tensions rise after the group announced a maritime blockade of the kingdom.

The flare-up followed an attack on a Saudi ship, as Houthis announced this week a maritime blockade of the kingdom, threatening the top oil exporter's ability to supply the world following Iran's parallel blockade of the Strait of Hormuz — Riyadh's only other maritime route.

Saudi-led coalition said it carried out a "proportionate military response" targeting Houthi-linked military sites.

Houthi media claimed two people were wounded by Saudi air strikes — a worker in the port city of Hudaida and a woman on Kamaran island.

President Donald Trump said that the United States and Iran were in talks to negotiate an end to their conflict, but repeated that Tehran was not yet ready for a deal.

"We are talking to them. I think they're being serious. I think ... they are being by far the most serious that we've seen them, but that doesn't mean we get there. We'll see what happens," Trump said in remarks to reporters at the White House.

The US attacked an LPG tanker with missiles in the Gulf of Oman, mistakenly believing it was carrying Iranian gas, according to Iran's Fars News Agency, citing an unnamed source.

The strike reportedly killed two crew members and disabled the vessel after damaging its engine room, according to the agency, though the claim has not been independently confirmed.

A liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) tanker carrying 28 Indian crew members came under attack in the Strait of Hormuz, but all of the Indian crew are safe, the Indian Embassy in Iran said.

The embassy said in a post on the US social media platform X that the Mozambique-flagged Meda was attacked in Iranian territorial waters.

It said Indian authorities were in close contact with relevant officials, adding that they would continue to closely monitor the situation.

Bahrain and Kuwait quietly deployed fighter jets to strike targets within Iran earlier this month, marking their first known direct military response against Tehran, The Wall Street Journal reported, citing “people familiar with the matter.”

The strikes hit facilities used to store drones and missiles, along with other military installations, according to the report.

An Omani diplomatic delegation arrived in Tehran for talks with Iranian officials on mechanisms governing navigation through the Strait of Hormuz, Iran’s state-run IRNA news agency reported.

The report said the delegation’s visit was part of ongoing consultations between Iran and Oman aimed at establishing appropriate mechanisms for managing ship traffic through the strategic waterway.

A senior UN official called for the rapid implementation of a confidence-building mechanism to restore safe maritime transit through the Strait of Hormuz.

Jorge Moreira da Silva, UN under-secretary-general, executive director of the UN Office for Project Services and coordinator of the UN Strait of Hormuz Task Force, said the escalating conflict in the Middle East has evolved from disrupting shipping to being exacerbated by the disruption itself.

Da Silva warned that disruptions to one of the world's busiest shipping lanes are driving up energy and food prices and threatening millions with acute food insecurity.

US missions in Iraq warned American citizens to remain vigilant amid escalating regional tensions, saying Iran and allied groups could target US interests and facilities worldwide.

“The security situation remains complex with the potential for unexpected escalation,” the US Embassy in Baghdad and Consulate General in Erbil, northern Iraq, said in a joint security alert. The missions advised US citizens in Iraq to maintain a high level of readiness, monitor local media, and follow instructions from Iraqi authorities. They warned that travel disruptions and airspace closures could happen without notice.

US President Donald Trump warned that it would be "very bad" for China or Russia if either country were to provide weapons to Iran, saying he believes both governments have pledged not to do so.

Trump said Chinese President Xi Jinping assured him during their recent meeting in Beijing that China would neither supply nor sell weapons to Iran, including through Chinese companies.

"President Xi, at our recent meeting in Beijing, China, told me that he would not, under any circumstances, give or sell Weapons to the Islamic Republic of Iran — And that statement included Chinese Companies. Considering our relationship, I take him at his word and, besides, l am doing him very big favorus, also," Trump wrote on his Truth Social platform.

Iran will not accept a temporary ceasefire and will continue its current course until its demands regarding the Strait of Hormuz are met, Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said.

Speaking to reporters on the sidelines of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) foreign ministers’ meeting in Cholpon-Ata, Kyrgyzstan, Araghchi said Iran would not discuss a temporary truce “unless our demands regarding the Strait of Hormuz are fulfilled,” according to Iranian media.

He said consultations with Russia and China were ongoing, adding that he held detailed talks with Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov and Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi on the sidelines of the meeting.

Residents began entering the southern Lebanese town of Zawtar al-Gharbiyeh, some inspecting damaged homes and searching for belongings after Israeli troops withdrew and the Lebanese army deployed under a US-brokered agreement.

The return remains tentative. More than half the town has been destroyed and many of the homes still standing are badly damaged, according to Mayor Abed Ezzeddin.

Residents walked through streets covered in rubble, stopping outside damaged homes.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu will meet US President Donald Trump at the White House on Tuesday.

"As part of the visit, the prime minister will meet with President Trump at the White House on Tuesday and attend the funeral service for Senator Lindsey Graham, a friend of Israel," Netanyahu's office said, adding that he would depart for Washington on Monday.

Maritime activity showed an uneven pattern across key chokepoints, as ship crossings dropped in the Strait of Hormuz while the Bab al Mandeb Strait experienced increased vessel movements, an international maritime tracker reported.

MarineTraffic data showed that traffic through the Strait of Hormuz fell to just six confirmed crossings, which represented a 60 percent decrease day-on-day. Five of the six vessels followed the Iranian Unilateral Scheme, and this highlighted the continued concentration of traffic along that specific route.

Meanwhile, the Bab al Mandeb Strait recorded 49 confirmed crossings, and this total included five sanctioned vessels, 11 so-called “shadow-fleet” vessels, and four “dark” transits. Several ships that previously reversed their course in the Gulf of Aden and the Red Sea later completed their passages, while others remained on hold.

Iraq rejects a New York Times report that its prime minister carried a US ceasefire proposal to Tehran following talks with President Donald Trump.

Pakistani Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar and his Iranian counterpart, Abbas Araghchi, reaffirmed their commitment to working together for "regional peace, stability, and shared prosperity."

The two ministers met on the sidelines of a Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) foreign ministers' meeting in the Kyrgyz resort city of Cholpon-Ata and discussed the "evolving regional situation," according to a statement from Pakistan's Foreign Ministry.

The Danish-flagged oil products tanker Torm Innovation will sail to Asia via the Suez Canal with its cargo, the vessel's owner Torm said, following Houthi threats to shipping in the southern Red Sea.

Houthis declared on Monday a naval blockade against Saudi Arabia, opening a potential new front against the US in the Iran war and expanding the threat to global energy supplies and trade beyond the Gulf.

Torm suspended Red Sea transits since January 2024, allowing only a few vessels this summer after careful case-by-case review, the spokesperson said.

Jordan's military intercepted seven missiles and six drones launched by Iran, it said, as Tehran pressed its attacks on US bases in the Middle East.

The military said the interceptions, performed by air defence systems and air force planes, "resulted in no casualties or material damage".