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.
Key Headlines
- Strait of Hormuz won't open until Iranian conditions met, Ghalibaf says
- State Department advises Americans to 'seriously reconsider' travel in Middle East, citing Houthi hostilities in Saudi Arabia
- Iran’s security chief calls for end to Saudi-Yemen war, says future nuclear policy depends on US conduct
- Saudi Arabia confirms Houthis tried to attack Riyadh with a ballistic missile
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.
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.
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
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.
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.
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
Trump says US is 'talking' to Houthis
President Donald Trump said in a phone interview with NewsNation Friday that the U.S. is currently "talking" with the Houthis, and claimed the Iran-backed group is looking to secure a deal.
"We're talking to the Houthis also and they would like to see if we can make a deal," he reportedly said.
Trump said something similar in Ireland last week, when he claimed that the U.S. and Houthis have had "discussions."
When asked about his comments to Axios Thursday, in which the president said he has a "big decision" to make on whether or not he should "annihilate" Iran, Trump did not provide NewsNation with new details.
He repeated his insistence that Iran wants to make a deal saying, "we’ll see what happens."
"Right now they want to make a deal. If the deal's not a correct deal then I wouldn't even think about it," he told NewsNation.
-ABC News' Emily Chang