Iran live updates: IRGC Navy claims attacks on 4 vessels in Persian Gulf

The British Defense Ministry announced on Tuesday that it will "provide additional defensive military support" to Saudi Arabia amid escalating attacks by Iran-backed Houthi rebels in Yemen.

In a statement, the ministry said its forces "will fly defensive counter air missions to support the protection of Saudi cities and critical national infrastructure against aerial attack, using RAF Typhoon fighter jets."

The jets will operate defensively and "will not conduct offensive strikes against the Houthis," the ministry said. The Typhoons will be supported by an A400M military transport aircraft and British military advisers, the statement said.

Defence Secretary Wes Streeting described the Houthi attacks on Saudi Arabia as "despicable," adding that the recent Houthi strikes on the King Khalid International Airport in Riyadh "shows the lengths the Houthis are going to escalate the situation in the region."

-ABC News' Zoe Magee

Saudi military spokesperson Col. Turki Al-Maliki said in a post to X on Tuesday morning that Saudi forces intercepted a Houthi ballistic missile fired toward the capital city Riyadh.

President Donald Trump addressed the ongoing conflict with Iran at his rally in Kansas on Monday night.

Trump said the U.S. military is winning the conflict with Iran, suggesting that American action has prevented Tehran's acquisition of a nuclear weapon -- an alleged ambition that Iranian leaders have repeatedly denied.

"By the way, somebody said you could leave right now. It's true. We can leave right now. They're not going to have a nuclear weapon," Trump said, calling the Iranians a "rough group."

"We have the greatest military," Trump said. "We rebuilt it in my first term. And if you have any questions about that, just ask Venezuela or ask Iran."

-ABC News' Isabella Murray

Russia will not stop cooperating with Iran amid the conflict in the Middle East, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said Monday.

"Despite the difficult situation that has already been mentioned more than once, Russia does not intend to abandon its agreements with Iran in the economic and investment spheres," Lavrov said during a press briefing in Tehran, according to a readout from his office published by Russian state media.

Lavrov mentioned that Russian specialists are "gradually returning to the Bushehr nuclear power plant" in Iran, and that Russian engineers are expected to soon begin construction on the Rasht–Astara railway being developed jointly by Russia and Iran.