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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.

5:14 AM EDT

Strait of Hormuz won't open until Iranian conditions met, Ghalibaf says

Iranian parliament speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf said on Sunday that Tehran will not allow the reopening of the Strait of Hormuz until all of its conditions have been met.

"Over the past seven months, we have shown that we are not helpless in the face of aggression," Ghaliaf said in a statement published by the semi-official Fars News Agency.

"We must both fight and negotiate," said Ghalibaf, who led the Iranian negotiating delegation to Islamabad in April.

"Our messages have been conveyed and our conditions have been clearly explained to the other side through mediators, and the enemy knows very well that the path of deception and one-sided imposition is closed," Ghalibaf continued.

"Until these conditions are met, the legitimate rights of the Iranian people are recognized and the Americans fulfill their commitments, there will be no opening for a return to the previous conditions for negotiations or for the Strait of Hormuz to be opened," he said.

"Today, the old American order in West Asia has collapsed, and it is the Islamic countries of the region that must implement a new order," Ghalibaf added.

Sep 19, 2026, 8:29 PM EDT

State Department advises Americans to 'seriously reconsider' travel in Middle East, citing Houthi hostilities in Saudi Arabia

The State Department posted a security alert on Saturday evening advising Americans currently in the Middle East to "exercise heightened vigilance" and "be aware of potential flight cancellations, airspace closures, and travel disruptions."

"Iranian-supported Houthis have engaged in hostilities against Saudi Arabia, including civilian airports. This military conflict has the potential to escalate rapidly," the post said.

The alert also advised Americans outside the Middle East to "seriously reconsider travel to and through the region."

-ABC News' Lauren Minore

Sep 19, 2026, 5:49 PM EDT

Iran’s security chief calls for end to Saudi-Yemen war, says future nuclear policy depends on US conduct

Iranian National Security Council Secretary General Mohsen Rezaei said in an interview with Al Jazeera on Saturday that Tehran wants an end to the war between Saudi Arabia and Yemen.

Talking about Iran’s nuclear program, Rezaei said the Islamic Republic remains "committed" to the former leader’s fatwa on its nuclear doctrine, which had prohibited the manufacture of a nuclear weapon. However, he said he does not know "what will happen in the future."

“We have not yet made a decision to withdraw from the NPT," said Rezaei, referring to the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons. He added that "this matter depends on Washington’s conduct."

He told Al Jazeera that Iran's conditions have been conveyed to the U.S. via mediators, Qatar and Pakistan. They include the lifting of a U.S. naval blockade and an end to the war on all fronts, as he said.

-ABC News' Somayeh Malekian

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

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