US-IRAN CONFLICT: WAR AND DIPLOMACY

The Saudi-led coalition said on Tuesday it had destroyed three drones north of Saudi Arabia's capital, Riyadh, as hostilities with the Yemeni Houthi group persist.

Civilians are paying an unacceptable price in the fighting in the Middle East, the Red Cross said Tuesday as it called for urgent de-escalation.

"A further intensification of hostilities would be disastrous for tens of millions of people. Urgent efforts must be made to de-escalate and protect civilians from further harm," Mirjana Spoljaric, the president of the International Committee of the Red Cross, said in a statement.

The Hormozgan Ports and Maritime Organisation (PMO) reports the export of more than five million tonnes of petroleum products from Shahid Rajaee Port, Iran’s largest commercial port, in the first half of the year.

Iran’s semi-official Fars News Agency quoted PMO Director General Hossein Abbasnejad as saying: “Despite the unjust war and intensified economic restrictions … 5,140,000 tonnes of petroleum products have been exported from this port.”

President Donald Trump said late on Monday he did not believe that China and Russia were helping Iran "at all," adding that Moscow and Beijing had "too much to lose" if they enabled Tehran.

Trump said on Truth Social that he had seen comments from his critics and opponents that China and Russia were helping Iran.

"If they are, it's at a very low level, but I don't believe they are at all. They have too much to lose, and we would know about it, and know about it very fast," Trump wrote.

Trump said in July he trusted China and Russia not to help Tehran in the Iran war, but warned that if they did get involved "it would be very bad for them."

US President Donald Trump criticised Yemen’s Houthi group on Monday over its recent actions but stopped short of announcing any specific measures in response.

Asked by reporters what he intended to do about the group as he left the White House for Ohio, Trump said: “Well, the Houthis are misbehaving very badly. No good.”

The remarks came as Saudi Arabia’s capital, Riyadh, faced repeated Houthi attacks, including strikes on King Khalid International Airport on consecutive days that forced a temporary suspension of operations.

The attacks have added to the military escalation between Saudi Arabia and the Houthis since July, with civilian aviation facilities and energy installations in the kingdom also coming under attack.

Saudi Arabia has led a military coalition backing Yemen’s internationally recognised government against the Houthis since March 2015. The group has controlled the capital, Sanaa, and several provinces since September 2014.

Iran's Revolutionary Guards said on Monday they had struck a vessel attempting to cross the Strait of Hormuz, a vital waterway for global energy supplies.

Iran has blockaded the strait since the United States and Israel launched strikes against the Islamic Republic in February, triggering a wider war in the Middle East.

The blockade has prompted a US counter-blockade of Iranian ports, while American forces routinely escort vessels through the waterway.

Since the conflict began, Iran has repeatedly targeted ships attempting to cross the strait without its permission.

The Guards' navy said in a statement published on its Sepah News platform that a "supertanker was hit in the Strait of Hormuz and caught fire".

According to the statement, the vessel had attempted to transit the area "by disabling its transponders" and "by ignoring warnings from the Guards' Navy".

Ali Ozmaei, the Guards' naval commander, warned over the weekend that any vessel switching off its transponder to avoid detection while crossing the strait would be considered "hostile" and face a "severe" response.

The British maritime security agency UK Maritime Trade Operations (UKMTO) also reported four separate incidents on Monday involving vessels being struck in the Strait of Hormuz on the previous day.

Etihad Airways has cancelled flights between Abu Dhabi and Saudi Arabia's Riyadh, Jeddah and Dammam due to "regional disruption", as Yemen's Iran-aligned Houthi group continues attacks on the kingdom, Reuters reported on Tuesday.

The airline said all flights between Abu Dhabi and Riyadh had been cancelled until October 19. It did not specify in the statement when services to Jeddah and Dammam would resume.

A senior Houthi official has threatened a rapid and “painful response” against the United States and its regional interests if Washington joins the war in Yemen.

“If the US becomes involved in the aggression against Yemen, we will not deliberate over the decision to respond. Rather, there will be a swift and painful response targeting the US and all its interests in the region,” Houthi political bureau member Mohammed Al Bukhaiti told AFP in an interview.

Al Bukhaiti also warned employees and workers at Saudi oil facilities and airports to stay away from the sites, which he described as “legitimate targets”.

His remarks came after a deadly attack on Riyadh’s airport on Saturday killed 13 people, prompting US President Donald Trump to say he was considering joining Saudi Arabia’s air strikes against the Iran-aligned group.

Trump described the attack as “not acceptable” and said he would speak to Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman about the situation.

Asked whether Washington would join the Saudi strikes, Trump told reporters the US was “going to look at” the possibility.

Yemeni government forces say they have carried out 1,879 operations against the Houthis as part of their “Dawn of Yemen” campaign to retake territory held by the group.

Military spokesperson Majeed al-Nuzaili said the operations involved combat aircraft, artillery and rocket launchers targeting Houthi positions.

The attacks destroyed 380 military vehicles and thwarted the Houthis’ “attempts to support their positions and reorganise their forces”, al-Nuzaili said.

The Saudi-led coalition said it intercepted and destroyed three ballistic missiles launched by Yemen's Houthi group towards Saudi Arabia, including two targeting Riyadh and one aimed at Khamis Mushait.

Coalition spokesman Major General Turki Al-Maliki announced the interceptions, saying the missiles had been destroyed before reaching their targets.

The latest interceptions come amid escalating hostilities between Saudi Arabia and the Houthis, with repeated missile and drone attacks raising security concerns across the kingdom.

Saudi authorities have also reported disruptions to airport operations following attacks on the country, while regional tensions continue to threaten civilian safety and transport links.

The Houthis have carried out repeated attacks on Saudi targets during periods of heightened conflict, while the Saudi-led coalition has maintained operations against the group in Yemen.