What to know about the Iran war today:
o The U.S. military has escorted one billion barrels of oil and over 2,000 commercial vessels out of the Persian Gulf in the last couple of months, the leader of U.S. Central Command, Adm. Brad Cooper, said in a video released Saturday.

o The Iran-backed Houthi militia in Yemen expanded attacks on Saudi Arabia on Saturday, targeting oil storage at the Riyadh international airport and Aramco oil facilities in Yanbu, both deep into Saudi territory. Saudi officials later said that the Houthis had fired a ballistic missile at Riyadh, which they said was successfully intercepted.

o President Trump said Thursday he is poised to make a "big decision" on whether to launch a major assault to "annihilate" the Iranian regime. "It's a big decision," Mr. Trump told Axios ahead of a planned meeting with Persian Gulf leaders next week. "Anything could happen with me."

10:20 AM
Trump says he's in "deciding mode" on Iran
President Trump told Fox News that he's in a "deciding mode" on Iran, forecasting "very big things" to come in the near future as he considers his options in the war.

Fox News' Trey Yingst said he spoke with the president, who said he's considering a handful of choices, including "wiping Iran out," "letting them rot economically," or striking a deal.

"My question is, if and when do I blow the entire nation up? They better behave," the president told Yingst.

Yingst said the president also told him he'd probably be open to meeting with Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian, who is expected to attend the United Nations General Assembly in New York this week.

The comments come after Mr. Trump told Axios on Thursday that he's facing a "big decision" on whether to "annihilate" the Iranian regime.

8:40 AM
CIA director meets with Egypt's Sisi amid U.S. warning of "potential" Middle East escalation
CIA Director John Ratcliffe met with Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi during a rare visit to Cairo on Sunday.

Sisi's office said the meeting, attended by Egypt's spy chief Hassan Rashad, discussed the wars in Iran, the Gaza Strip and Sudan, as well as attacks on Gulf countries and threats to maritime security.

Sisi stressed "the paramount importance of settling regional crises through political and diplomatic tracks," according to a presidency statement.

On Saturday, the U.S. State Department warned Americans against traveling to the region, as hostilities rage between Saudi Arabia and Yemen's Houthis.

"This military conflict has the potential to escalate rapidly," it warned.

Ratcliffe's visit also came days after de facto Saudi leader Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman met Sisi in Cairo.

The pair urged safe and secure maritime navigation through Bab al-Mandab, after the Houthis seized the Yemeni coast in a lightning offensive.

Cairo is a key US ally in the region and one of the top recipients of U.S. military aid.

It has repeatedly positioned itself as a stabilising force in a turbulent region, keeping open lines of communication with rival sides, including Israel, Hamas and Iran.

Sisi's office said Ratcliffe on Sunday "lauded Egypt's pivotal role in supporting efforts aimed at reaching peaceful, comprehensive settlements to regional crises."

7:46 AM
Tehran has conveyed conditions to U.S. for reopening of Strait of Hormuz, Iran's top negotiator says
Iran has conveyed to Washington through mediators its conditions for reopening the strategic Strait of Hormuz, which it has blockaded throughout the Middle East war, Tehran's top negotiator said Sunday.

The two foes are locked in a stalemate months into the conflict, particularly over the Strait of Hormuz, a vital shipping route for the world's oil and gas.

"Our messages and the explanation of our conditions have been clearly conveyed to the other party through mediators," said Iranian parliament speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf, who has acted as chief negotiator in talks to end the war.

"As long as the conditions are not met... and the U.S. commitments are not honoured, it will be impossible to return to the situation from before the negotiations and to an open strait," he added, according to state television.

Mohsen Rezaei, the head of Iran's supreme national security council, said on Saturday that the Islamic Republic had conveyed its conditions to the U.S. via mediator Qatar.

"Our conditions are an end to the war on all fronts, the release of our frozen funds and an end to the naval blockade," he said in an interview with Al Jazeera.

7:26 AM
Egypt, Jordan and Kuwait condemn Houthi attack in Riyadh
Three Muslim and arab countries condemned the Houthis' attack in Riyadh, saying it was a threat to regional security and stability and a violation of international law.

Egypt, Jordan and Kuwait, in separate statements, said their governments stand with Saudi Arabia in support of its sovereignty and protection of its civilians.

The Muslim World League also condemned the attack on civilians and civilian infrastructure as a violation of "all religious values as well as international and humanitarian laws and norms."

It was the first time the Saudi capital has been targeted since the escalation in fighting with the Iran-backed rebels opened a new front in the Iran war. Saudi Arabia said the attack was intercepted. Some residents in Riyadh heard an explosion, and later some saw a plume of smoke near the airport. There were no reports of casualties or damage.

In recent weeks, fighting has intensified between Saudi Arabia and the Houthis, who have taken control of vast swaths of Yemen's Red Sea coastline, along with several islands in the critical Bab al-Mandab Strait, a move which has put more pressure on an already stressed global oil supply.

8:42 PM
U.S. embassies across Middle East issue security alerts for Americans amid "potential for unforeseen escalation" in conflict
U.S. embassies across the Middle East early Sunday morning local time issued security alerts for American citizens in the region.

"Due to tensions in the Middle East, the security environment remains complex with the potential for unforeseen escalation," the State Department said in its alerts.

The alerts did not state a specific threat, but called for Americans to "exercise heightened vigilance and be aware of potential flight cancellations, airspace closures, and travel disruptions."

They cited the recent fighting between Saudi Arabia and the Iranian-backed Houthi militants in Yemen, noting that the "military conflict" between the two sides "has the potential to escalate rapidly."

Turki al-Malki, a spokesperson for the Saudi coalition forces who are fighting the Houthis, said in an earlier statement posted to X that the Saudis had intercepted a ballistic missile fired at the Saudi capital of Riyadh on Saturday.

In recent weeks, fighting has intensified between Saudi Arabia and the Houthis, who have taken control of vast swaths of Yemen's Red Sea coastline, along with several islands in the critical Bab al-Mandab Strait, a move which has put more pressure on an already stressed global oil supply.

Saudi Arabia's crucial East-West oil pipeline was damaged by drone strikes earlier this month believed to have been conducted by Iran-backed militias operating in Iraq, although no group has taken credit for the attacks. Furthermore, since July, the Houthis have attempted a blockade on Saudi ports.

The alerts were posted by U.S. embassies in Israel, Saudi Arabia, Iraq, Kuwait, Lebanon, Jordan, Bahrain, the United Arab Emirates and Qatar.

4:56 PM / September 19, 2026
Saudi-led coalition says Houthis fired ballistic missile at Riyadh
The Saudi-led coalition fighting Yemen's Houthi militants said Saturday that the Iran-backed group fired a ballistic missile at Riyadh at dawn, after a fire broke out near the Saudi capital's international airport.

Firefighters extinguished a blaze on a fuel tank with the logo of the Saudi oil giant Aramco at a fuel depot near Riyadh's King Khalid International Airport, an Agence France-Presse journalist saw. Footage shared online and verified by AFP showed a column of black smoke above airport buildings.

In recent weeks, Yemen's Iran-backed Houthis have staged a lightning offensive, seizing swathes of territory in one of the world's poorest countries, leaving the internationally-recognized government, which is backed by Saudi Arabia, scrambling to respond.

Saudi Arabia's air force "successfully intercepted and destroyed a ballistic missile launched by the Houthi terrorist militia towards the city of Riyadh at dawn on Saturday," coalition spokesman Turki al-Malki posted on X.

He said the Houthis also tried to target "civilians and civilian infrastructure in Bisha, Taif, Farasan, and Yanbu," adding that the attacks "were thwarted by the Gulf monarchy's air defenses."

Saudi Arabia has responded with scores of airstrikes on Houthi-held areas, but failed to stop the advance.

The Houthis said it had responded to recent Saudi attacks by carrying out "two successful military operations using a large number of ballistic and cruise missiles and drones," Houthi military spokesman Yahya Saree said, in a statement on Telegram.

"The first targeted sensitive sites in the Saudi capital, Riyadh, and the second targeted Aramco facilities in Yanbu."

Saudi authorities had earlier issued an overnight air raid alert.

Hours after the early morning alert, residents told AFP on condition of anonymity that they heard what sounded like a round of explosions echoing through parts of the Saudi capital.

Tracking website FlightRadar24 reported "major problems" at Riyadh's King Khalid International Airport, listing it for a while under its maximum disruption index, before normal traffic began to resume.

This is the first time since Yemen's civil war resumed that strikes have threatened the Saudi capital, piling further pressure on a global economy already rocked by seven months of war between the U.S. and Iran.

The Houthis have reported scores of retaliatory strikes carried out daily by Riyadh since their offensive this month to take over Yemen's entire Red Sea coast, giving them control over the vital Bab al-Mandab Strait.

2:54 PM / September 19, 2026
Saudi Arabia shouldn't be part of Iran-U.S. war, Turkish foreign minister says
Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan spoke out Saturday about the concerning spread of the Iran war throughout the Middle East, saying Saudi Arabia should not be involved.

"We do not accept Saudi Arabia being made a part of the ongoing conflict between Iran and America," Fidan told Turkish TV station NTV. "Saudi Arabia should be kept outside this equation because they themselves are not seeking to become involved in it."

Saudi Arabia has been plunged into the expanding war after the Iran-backed Houthis started targeting Saudi-flagged oil tankers exiting the Bab el-Mandeb Strait at the southern end of the Red Sea in solidarity with Iran attacking ships in the Strait of Hormuz.

On Saturday, the Houthis attacked deep into Saudi territory, including the capital of Riyadh and its 8 million inhabitants.

The attacks are particularly concerning to Turkey after it signed a defense pact with Saudi Arabia and Pakistan last month. The agreement calls for each country to treat the other as if an attack on one is an attack on all, similar to NATO's Article 5.

Fidan also told NTV the Saudis may have some military needs and Turkey would look to assist as part of the defense agreement, according to AFP.

1:50 PM / September 19, 2026
Houthis say they targeted "sensitive sites" in Riyadh, Aramco facilities in Yanbu
The Iran-backed Houthis said on Saturday they launched strikes targeting "sensitive sites" in Saudi Arabia's Riyadh and oil facilities in the kingdom's port city of Yanbu, hours after residents reported blasts in the Saudi capital.

"In response to the Saudi enemy's criminal attempts to target the capital Sana'a ... the Yemeni Armed Forces carried out two successful military operations using a large number of ballistic and cruise missiles and drones," Houthi military spokesman Yahya Saree said, in a statement on Telegram, referring to the name they use for unofficial armed forces. "The first targeted sensitive sites in the Saudi capital, Riyadh, and the second targeted Aramco facilities in Yanbu."

The Houthis did not specify what the "sensitive sites were," but one appeared to be an Aramco fuel storage depot at Riyadh's King Khalid International Airport.

The Houthi statement came after firefighters extinguished a blaze on a fuel tank emblazoned with the logo of the Saudi oil giant Aramco at a fuel depot near Riyadh's international airport on Saturday, according to an AFP journalist.

The attack on Yanbu is especially significant considering its location. It is located on the Red Sea coast, but some 700 miles north of the border between Yemen and Saudi Arabia. Riyadh itself is also over 700 miles from the border, showing just how deep the Houthi strikes are now reaching into Saudi Arabia.

1:17 PM / September 19, 2026
Iran awaits U.S. response to its conditions for ending the war
The head of Iran's Supreme National Security Council, Mohsen Rezaei, told Al Jazeera in an interview that Iran is waiting for President Trump's response after Tehran conveyed its conditions for ending the war via Qatar.

It was not clear when the conditions were shared. Rezaei said they include ending the war on all fronts, releasing assets seized from Iran and ending the U.S. naval blockade of Iranian ports. Earlier U.S.-Iran negotiations fell apart.

He also said Iran wants the fighting involving Yemen and Saudi Arabia to end.

Iran has made similar demands several times in the past since the Islamabad memorandum of understanding fell apart in July. The demands have always been dismissed by Mr. Trump as not being realistic.

"Hopefully we're toward the end of the war," the president told reporters Wednesday. "They want to make a deal. We'll see how that works out. They're very much wanting to make, Iran is very much wanting to make a deal. We'll see how."

12:49 PM / September 19, 2026
Iranian official calls out alleged hypocrisy by United States tied to U.N. report
Ismaeil Baqaei, a prominent spokesperson for the Iranian government, is calling out the alleged hypocrisy of a statement by the White House after the U.N. issued a report earlier this week highlighting possible crimes committed by the U.S. military.

The report released on Thursday, carried out by human rights experts contracted by the U.N., found "reasonable grounds" to believe the U.S. committed war crimes in Iran, including a prominent bombing of a school in Minab that killed dozens of children.

Anna Kelly, White House principal deputy assistant secretary, issued a statement condemning the report.

"The UN Human Rights Council has accomplished nothing for human rights while spouting unserious nonsense for decades," Kelly said. "The only party in this conflict that has committed war crimes is the Iranian regime, which has murdered thousands of its own people, killed Americans overseas, executed acts of terrorism in the Strait of Hormuz, and launched indiscriminate attacks against its neighbors in the region."

Baqaei's response Saturday accused the U.S. of carrying out the same actions it accused Iran of committing.

"The White House spokesperson has issued a lengthy list of accusations against Iran. With striking precision, most of these charges describe the very actions the United States itself has initiated, perpetrated, or supported," he wrote on X. "This flight from reality and act of projection should come as no surprise."

11:37 AM / September 19, 2026
Iranian foreign minister: World "needs a fundamental change of course"
Abbas Araghchi, Iran's foreign minister, criticized a lack of restraint for some countries going to war as a first resort and said the U.S. and Israel's attack on his country was emblematic of a "pattern of unpunished aggression."

"The world we live in needs a fundamental change of course more than ever, because war, intervention, sanctions, and the use of force have become ordinary tools of policy rather than exceptions," Araghchi, one of two Iranian leaders approved for travel to next week's U.N. General Assembly, said Saturday.

"A dangerous pattern has now emerged, in which military force is no longer used as a last resort, but has become a permanent mechanism for reshaping the political and security landscape of the region," he added, in taped remarks at the 2026 Global Town Hall.

Araghchi has also been one of the top ceasefire negotiators for Iran, including the Islamabad memorandum of understanding. He has also been involved in negotiations with Oman over passage through the Strait of Hormuz, though it's unclear where most talks currently stand.

Iran has largely argued the war with the U.S. is unjust because they claim they were not seeking to build a nuclear weapon and it infringed on their national sovereignty.

"The military aggression by the United States and the Israeli regime against Iran can also be understood within this framework, a war that was illegal, unjust, and aggressive, and was launched without any prior provocation," Araghchi said. "This war was part of a broader pattern of unpunished aggression, including a campaign of targeted assassinations of Iranian officials, threats against political figures and officials, violations of states' sovereignty, and impunity for acts of aggression."

10:30 AM / September 19, 2026
Pakistani, Iranian foreign ministers talk energy supply, shipping safety
Pakistani Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar discussed uninterrupted energy supplies and safe passage for commercial ships during a telephone call Saturday with his Iranian counterpart, Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi.

Pakistan's foreign ministry said in a statement that Dar underscored the importance of ensuring ships pass safely and quickly, citing the potential effects of disruptions on developing countries and global supply chains. The statement did not provide details of Araghchi's response.

Araghchi is one of two prominent Iranian leaders, alongside President Masoud Pezeshkian, who will be attending the U.N. General Assembly in New York next week. It's unclear whether either man will meet with President Trump or any U.S. officials.

Pakistan has faced rising energy prices as the tensions spiked, increasing pressure on Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif's government. An Islamist party has threatened to march on the capital, Islamabad, unless the government lowers fuel prices.

10:07 AM / September 19, 2026
48 killed in fighting between Houthi, Yemeni forces: Sources
Fighting in southern Yemen between Saudi-backed government forces and Iran-backed Houthi fighters has killed 48 people in recent hours, military sources from both sides told AFP on Saturday.

Seventeen Yemeni troops were killed, while the Houthis reported 31 of their fighters killed in the past day, according to government military sources.

Some of that fighting affected the main airport in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, on Saturday.

Firefighters could be seen trying to extinguish the flames of a burnt out fuel tank emblazoned with the logo of the Saudi oil giant Aramco near the airport, according to an AFP journalist at the scene. It was unclear whether anyone was injured in that specific strike.

9:37 AM / September 19, 2026
1 billion barrels of crude oil escorted out of Strait of Hormuz, U.S. military says
The U.S. military has escorted 1 billion barrels of crude oil out of the Persian Gulf through the Strait of Hormuz in the last couple months, according to the commander of U.S. Central Command, Adm. Brad Cooper.

There have been more than 2,000 commercial ships transit the strait under U.S. protection, Cooper said in a video released Saturday morning on social media.

"Even with this progress, we remain clear-eyed and laser-focused as we work with our teammates in the U.S. interagency, as well as all six partners in the Gulf Cooperation Council, known as the GCC, as well as insurance and shipping companies to increase the volume of traffic flow through the Strait of Hormuz," Cooper said in the video.

"The effort is paying off. The volume of crude oil, cargo and liquid natural gas these past two weeks is higher than at any point in the last six months," he added.

Cooper also said the U.S. was working with Gulf countries to enhance their air defenses, though he did not provide specifics. Countries like Kuwait, Bahrain, the United Arab Emirates and Jordan have come under repeated drone and missile attacks from Iran.

The announcement came after a particularly bad couple of weeks for the energy markets for the Trump administration. Diesel prices reached an all-time high over $6 a gallon and Brent crude, the international standard, went from $93 a barrel on Sept. 4 to $109 on Sept. 10, before retreating slightly to end this past week at $103.

8:56 AM / September 19, 2026
Israeli army vehicle drives over Hezbollah-planted explosive, IDF says
The Israeli army launched widespread strikes on Hezbollah positions in southern Lebanon on Saturday after officials said an Israel Defense Forces vehicle drove over an explosive planted by the Iran-backed militant group.

An engineering vehicle ran over the charge, according to the IDF, and two soldiers were "lightly injured and evacuated for medical treatment."

In response, the Israeli army announced it carried out widespread strikes across southern Lebanon on Hezbollah infrastructure, including observation posts.

7:39 AM / September 19, 2026
'Major problems' at Riyadh airport, with flights canceled, delayed
Aircraft tracking website FlightRadar24 on Saturday reported major issues at the Saudi capital's Riyadh King Khalid International Airport, including cancellations and delays, after residents saw smoke and flames near the site.

The airport was listed under the site's maximum disruption index of 5.0, meaning the airport was seeing "major problems with long delays and several cancelled flights."

The disruption follows an overnight air raid alert issued by Saudi authorities, the first since fighting in neighboring Yemen intensified this month.

5:36 AM / September 19, 2026
Houthis' escalation risks expanding conflict, U.N. says
The U.N.'s most powerful body said late Friday that the Houthis' military escalation, attacks and threats "risk further expanding the conflict, threatening maritime security and international trade" while undermining regional and international efforts to secure peace in Yemen.

It warned that continued escalation would exacerbate the already dire humanitarian situation in the country.

The council's 15 members called for "practical cooperation" to prevent the Iran-backed Houthis from acquiring arms, military training, financing and other military-related assistance needed to carry out their attacks. They stressed that all countries must enforce the U.N. arms embargo against the rebel group.

2:36 AM / September 19, 2026
Iran executes man accused of providing missile info to Israel
Iran's judiciary announced on Saturday the execution of a man accused of providing information about Iranian missile sites to Israeli intelligence.

"The death penalty was carried out against Hossein Pedaran, who had provided the Mossad with information on missile sites in Isfahan province" in central Iran, judicial authorities said, without saying when he was arrested or put on trial.

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