Saudi Arabia and Houthis exchange fire as US attacks tanker in Hormuz Strait

Image source, Reuters Image caption, A vessel in the Strait of Hormuz, as seen from Musandam, Oman

Saudi Arabia launched airstrikes on Houthi targets in the Yemeni port city of Hodeida and a nearby island on Friday, after the Iran-backed group announced a maritime blockade and attacked Saudi ships.

Saudi authorities later issued emergency alerts for the province of Jizan as the Houthis claimed responsibility for a missile attack on the city of Jizan.

Early on Saturday, the Houthis' Ansarollah media said on Telegram that a "Yemeni missile strike" had caused fires in the Saudi city of Jizan.

Meanwhile in the Strait of Hormuz, the US military said on Friday it had fired on and disabled a tanker ship in the Gulf of Oman that was attempting to evade the American blockade on Iranian ports.

The vessel attacked by the US is the second commercial ship the US has disabled since it reimposed its blockade earlier this month.

"We disabled the tanker after the crew attempted to run the blockade at least four times prior," Navy Captain Tim Hawkins, spokesman for US Central Command, told AFP.

"The crew was repeatedly warned, didn't comply, and US forces on scene disabled the ship after firing into its engine room," he said. "The ship is no longer transiting to Iran."

Earlier, a delegation from Oman arrived in Iran's capital Tehran for talks on the Strait of Hormuz, Iran's state-run IRNA news agency reported. Oman controls the strait's southern coastline.

The US and Iran have traded fire for almost two weeks, with Iran on Friday saying it had carried out drone strikes on US military facilities and bases across the Middle East in retaliation for the 13th consecutive night of American attacks on the country.

Speaking to reporters at the White House on Friday afternoon, Trump continued to threaten further attacks while saying that negotiations were continuing.

"We are talking to them. I think they're being serious. I think ... they are being by far the most serious that we've seen them, but that doesn't mean we get there," he said.

Asked about his exit strategy for the Iran war, Trump said: "There's a military exit where we just keep going just the way we are, and we can even make it a heavier dose, and it's knocking out everything they have. Or there's a smarter strategy that you make a deal."