Iran-backed Houthis step up conflict with Saudis by targeting oil facilities

After 13th consecutive nights of strikes by the U.S., there were no new reports of bombings on Iran overnight Saturday. The U.S. military said Friday it disabled a commercial ship that attempted to evade the blockade on Iranian ports.

Iran claimed new drone strikes Friday against U.S. military facilities in Bahrain, Jordan and Kuwait, as explosions were heard near a military base hosting U.S. forces in northern Iraq and video showed dramatic drone interceptions.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said on Saturday he will share evidence with the United States showing Russia is assisting Iran target U.S. bases in the Middle East via satellite surveillance. "Since the beginning of July, we have recorded active Russian satellite surveillance of the Gulf states and U.S.

military facilities located there," Zelenskyy said on X . "These images subsequently appear in Iran. At the same time, there is a clear correlation between Russia's satellite imagery of these sites and Iranian strikes — both before the attacks, in preparation for them, and afterward, to assess the damage inflicted." Zelenskyy's accusations of Russia helping Iran target U.S.

troops are not the first. The allegation has lingered in media reports over the last few months, often with China possibly being involved as well. During a hearing on Capitol Hill earlier this week, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth was directly asked whether Russia and China were helping Iran.

His answer was somewhat unclear, but he did say they were helping Iran. "There's definitely adversary alignment, attempts to do so, and there are many ways that we deter that. And the depth and extent of it ought to remain classified, and it should," Hegseth said.

"But there are ways in which both of those countries are limiting, at different levels, enabling some of the things Iran is doing, yes." However, just days later, President Trump contradicted his secretary of defense, saying on Truth Social he did not believe they were assisting Iran. He mentioned both President Xijing and President Vladimir Putin and said they had assured him they were not involved. "Therefore, two major Countries that people speak of often in terms of Iran are, in my opinion, not participating," Mr.

Trump wrote. "If they did, it would be very bad for them — Certainly not in their best interests." But Zelenskyy on Saturday pointed to specific instances of Russia assisting Iran with targeting bases with U.S. troops.

"On July 19 and 20 alone, four air bases fell within the area of interest of Russian satellites — two in Bahrain, one in Jordan, and one in Kuwait," Zelenskyy continued. "The purpose is clear. None of us in the world should turn a blind eye to one very simple fact: evil always seeks ways to make things worse and spread further.

Russia must be stopped. This war must be stopped. Pressure on the aggressor must work." https://www.cbsnews.com/live-updates/iran-war-us-trump-strait-hormuz-middle-east/#post-update-5cfc9fc4 link copied Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said on Saturday there was no military solution to the escalating conflict between Saudi Arabia and the Tehran-backed Houthi rebels in Yemen, after both sides traded attacks.

"We believe that there is no military solution to the issue of Yemen, Bab al-Mandab, and other regional issues," said Araghchi in an interview published on Saturday by the state-run Iran Daily newspaper, calling for "dialogue." He said the situation in Yemen "cannot be attributed to Iran" and the incidents in the Bab el-Mandeb Strait were "rooted in old disputes and issues between Yemen, Saudi Arabia and the countries of the region." Iranian foreign ministry spokesman Esmaeil Baqaei made similar remarks, expressing Tehran's readiness to facilitate any talks between the two sides. "Returning to the path of dialogue and the full implementation of the agreed roadmap is the only way to end the suffering of the Yemeni people and maintain security and stability in the region," Baqaei said. https://www.cbsnews.com/live-updates/iran-war-us-trump-strait-hormuz-middle-east/#post-update-386f3c2c link copied Pakistan has reached out to Saudi officials as tensions start to boil over between Saudi Arabia and the Yemen-based Houthi rebels.

Ishaq Dar, foreign minister for Pakistan, spoke to his Saudi counterpart Faisal bin Farhan Al Saud on Saturday hours after the Houthis targeted two Aramco oil facilities in Saudi Arabia, according to Pakistan's Ministry of Foreign Affairs . "The two leaders exchanged views on the latest regional developments and reaffirmed the close and brotherly ties between Pakistan and Saudi Arabia," according to the foreign ministry. "They underscored the importance of continued diplomacy and shared their commitment to promoting constructive engagement, peace, and stability in the region." The drone and missile attacks on Saudi-owned Aramco facilities in Jizan and Yanbu on Saturday came in response to Saudi airstrikes Friday on the Red Sea city of Hodeida, a city controlled by the Houthi rebels near the mouth of the Bab el-Mandeb Strait.

The Iran-backed Houthi military had threatened to shut down the strait in solidarity with Iran's shutdown of the Strait of Hormuz. The Houthis fired on two Saudi-flagged oil tankers in the Red Sea late Wednesday. https://www.cbsnews.com/live-updates/iran-war-us-trump-strait-hormuz-middle-east/#post-update-385aaac1 link copied Iran's Revolutionary Guards said on Saturday their forces stopped four ships attempting to transit the strategic Strait of Hormuz over the past 24 hours.

"Four vessels that had intended to transit through the southern area of the Strait of Hormuz via an illegal and unsafe route were stopped over the past 24 hours after warning shots were fired by the IRGC Navy," the Guards said in a statement quoted by state television, adding that the ships had "altered course." Iran has in recent weeks hit tankers using a route hugging the Omani coast, sanctioned by the U.S., to traverse the strait, in a bid to strong-arm vessels into using its own waters and pay for safe passage. https://www.cbsnews.com/live-updates/iran-war-us-trump-strait-hormuz-middle-east/#post-update-710bf8cb link copied The Houthis, an Iran-backed paramilitary group in Yemen, announced strikes on Saudi oil company Aramco's facilities in Jizan and Yanbu on Saturday. The Houthis fired "dozens of ballistic and cruise missiles and drones," which successfully hit their targets, according to spokesperson Yahya Saree.

The strikes or whether they were successful could not be independently verified. The group also confirmed the military blockade of the Bab el-Mandeb Strait, the southern exit point of the Red Sea, remains in effect. The Houthis struck two Saudi-flagged commercial tankers in the Red Sea earlier this week, but had not struck any ships since then, bringing some calm to the region.

"We will not hesitate to expand our operations and escalate our actions based on developments in the coming hours and days, within the equation of a blockade for a blockade and an escalation for an escalation," Saree said in a statement. https://www.cbsnews.com/live-updates/iran-war-us-trump-strait-hormuz-middle-east/#post-update-84edbf2b link copied The two major ongoing wars crossed paths on Saturday when Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy announced his country had struck a ship carrying arms for Iran. As has become usual, the president ran off a list of long-distance strikes inside Russia, including targeting a weapons plant in Kirov, oil refinery in Tyumen and a logistics facility in Yekaterinburg, among others.

But he also mentioned an unusual strike. "We also achieved very strong results with long‑range strikes in the Caspian Sea - including vessels used in military cargo shipments involving Iran, as well as a warship," Zelenskyy said on X . It's unclear what the ship might have been carrying to Iran, but Russia is a close ally of the Iranians and vice versa.

Iran had provided many Shahed...