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Iran live updates: Strait of Hormuz shut until Tehran's conditions met, Ghalibaf says

The Strait of Hormuz remains a flashpoint with peace talks stalled.

President Donald Trump announced "major combat operations" against Iran on Feb. 28, with massive joint U.S.-Israeli strikes targeting military, government and infrastructure sites.

Delegations from the U.S. and Iran entered negotiations in June aimed at a war-ending deal based on a memorandum of understanding signed by both countries.

Those talks broke down as the U.S. and Iran continued to exchange strikes, with the strategic Strait of Hormuz as the primary flashpoint. Trump then said in August that the U.S. would launch a "crushing economic operation" to force Tehran into submission.

Sep 19, 2026, 4:45 PM EDT

Saudi Arabia confirms Houthis tried to attack Riyadh with a ballistic missile

Saudi-led coalition spokesperson Major General Turki Al-Maliki said Saturday that Saudi air defenses intercepted a Houthi ballistic missile fired toward Riyadh.

In a statement posted on social media, al-Maliki said the Royal Saudi Air Defense Forces had "successfully intercepted and destroyed" a ballistic missile launched by the Houthis toward the Saudi capital at dawn.

The statement said the targeting of civilians and civilian infrastructure in Riyadh demonstrated what it described as the Houthis' "hostile and terrorist behavior."

Al-Maliki also said the Houthis attempted to target civilians and civilian sites in Yanbu, Baish, Taif and Farasan, but that all attacks were thwarted by Saudi air defense systems.

The statement did not mention any attack on Riyadh's international airport.

-ABC News' Jamie Dorrington

Sep 19, 2026, 2:11 PM EDT

Houthis say they attacked 'sensitive sites' in Riyadh, Yanbu facilities

The Houthis issued a statement Saturday via a military spokesperson, saying they attacked what they called "sensitive sites in the Saudi capital, Riyadh" and Aramaco facilities in Yanbu, western Saudi Arabia, with ballistic missiles and drones.

Smoke rises near Riyadh airport in this video grab taken, Sept. 19, 2026, in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.
@HEY_ITSMYTURN/X/AFP via Getty Images

Video from earlier in the day showed black smoke rising near the international airport in Riyadh. Saudi Arabia hasn't immediately commented about the Houthi's claims.

Large plume of black smoke rises from the fuel storage area at King Khalid International Airport, in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, September 19, 2026.
Stringer/Reuters

The Houthi statement reads the two military operations were in response to "continued aggression of the criminal Saudi enemy" and Saudi Arabia's "criminal attempts to target the capital, Sana'a, using ISIS-style tactics, including indiscriminate bombings targeting civilians."

-ABC News' Jamie Dorrington

Sep 19, 2026, 2:48 AM EDT

Saudi authorities issue rare safety alerts for Riyadh

The General Directorate of Saudi Civil Defense issued two safety warnings for the city of Riyadh on Saturday morning, the first time such alerts had been given for the country's capital since cross-border fighting with Iran-backed Houthi forces in Yemen escalated in recent weeks.

Both alerts were lifted shortly after they were announced, with the directorate saying in posts to X that "the danger has passed."

Safety alerts were also issued overnight and into Saturday morning for the Al-Kharj, Farasan, Khamis Mushait, Yanbu, Jeddah and Taif regions. All alerts were lifted shortly after being announced.

Sep 18, 2026, 2:07 PM EDT

Iran war costs more than $40B, defense officials told lawmakers

The war in Iran has cost at least $43.3 billion as of Sept. 3, defense officials briefed to lawmakers this week, according to two sources familiar and documentation reviewed by ABC News.

The estimate, which came from U.S. Central Command, found that replacing destroyed military equipment cost $4.3 billion and approximately $28 billion has been spent with replacing munitions.

A U.S. Navy sailor on the USS George Washington participates in a replenishment-at-sea evolution in the Arabian Sea, Aug. 22, 2026.
US Navy

As with the other estimates, the costs associated with the hundreds of buildings destroyed on U.S. bases is not accounted for.

The non partisan Congressional Budget Office estimates that the Iran war will cost at least $2 billion a month and the costs can climb if fighting intensifies.

-ABC News' Steve Beynon

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