Houthi attacks target Riyadh amid concerns over Saudi oil supplies, as Iran says it will not reopen the Strait of Hormuz until its conditions are met and U.S. commitments are implemented, parliament speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf said on Sunday.
France will summon Iran’s ambassador and take “appropriate measures” after Iranian authorities sealed a French-language centre affiliated with the French embassy in Tehran, the Foreign Ministry said on Sunday.
French Foreign Ministry spokesperson Pascal Confavreux called the move “unjustifiable and unacceptable”, saying it followed an assault on two French embassy staff members last July.
Iran’s semi-official Tasnim news agency said the centre was closed following a judicial order from the Tehran prosecutor’s office. Relations between Paris and Tehran have been strained by disputes over Iran’s nuclear programme and the detention of French nationals.
Iran warned on Sunday that any major new attack by the United States and its allies would trigger sustained retaliation against U.S. bases and interests across the region, saying it had information that such an operation was being prepared.
Iran’s military central command, speaking on state media, said Washington’s regional allies would also be considered parties to the conflict if a new attack took place. It did not provide details about the intelligence behind its warning.
The warning comes after the U.S. State Department issued a security alert on Saturday, citing the potential for an unforeseen escalation in the Middle East and urging Americans to exercise increased vigilance.
The alert also warned of possible flight cancellations and airspace closures.
Air defences have shot down a drone near Erbil airport in Iraq’s Kurdistan region, according to security sources.
Italy is “not at war” in the Red Sea, Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani has said, while urging the European Union to strengthen its naval mission protecting merchant shipping in the strategic waterway, according to Corriere della Sera.
His comments follow a Houthi strike on Saudi Arabia’s Taif airbase that reportedly damaged an Italian Eurofighter on the ground.
Tajani said Italy would continue supporting the EU’s defensive Aspides mission, citing the Red Sea’s importance to Italian trade with Asia.
Qatar’s Foreign Ministry has strongly condemned the Houthi ballistic missile attack on Riyadh and the targeting of civilians and civilian infrastructure in Bish, Taif, Farasan and Yanbu.
Doha described the attacks as a “blatant violation” of Saudi Arabia’s sovereignty and international law, reaffirming its “full solidarity” with the kingdom and support for measures taken to protect its security and interests.
The ministry also called for an immediate halt to attacks on civilians and civilian assets.
Iran has shut down an “illegal centre” affiliated with the French embassy, Iranian news agency Tasnim reported, without providing further details.
Iran’s military central command has warned regional countries against supporting any potential U.S. attack on Iran, saying those involved should not expect restraint from Iranian forces.
State media quoted the command as saying any U.S. attack would trigger Iranian retaliation against US bases and interests “without any limitations or considerations”.
Iranian lawmaker Ebrahim Azizi has rejected U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent’s claim that Iranians are waiting for hours at petrol stations, calling the reports “nothing but baseless lies”.
In a post on X, Azizi warned the U.S. against “repeating your miscalculations”, while sharing a video claiming drivers were filling up in three to four minutes.
Bessent had told a U.S. congressional committee on 15 September that petrol queues in Iran were lasting three to four hours after Washington tightened sanctions on the country.
Iran will not reopen the Strait of Hormuz until its conditions are met and U.S. commitments are implemented, parliament speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf said on Sunday, according to semi-official Fars news agency.
Ghalibaf said Tehran would combine military action against its enemies with diplomacy to consolidate battlefield gains when the time is right.
“The enemy is well aware that the path of deception and unilateral imposition is closed; until these conditions are met, the legitimate rights of the Iranian nation are recognised, and American commitments are fulfilled, there will be no opening for a return to the previous state of negotiations or for the reopening of the Strait of Hormuz,” he said while addressing the Parliament.
Iran’s security chief Mohsen Rezaei has called on the U.S. to accept Tehran’s “rights and conditions” if it wants to end the war.
In a post on X, Rezaei said Iran had set out seven conditions for starting negotiations with Washington, adding that the U.S. must accept them to avoid further escalation.
U.S. President Donald Trump was expected to return to the White House late Saturday after cutting short his weekend stay at Camp David, according to a White House pool report. No reason was given.
Earlier, a NORAD F-16 intercepted an aircraft that entered restricted airspace near Camp David. Officials said it posed no danger to people on the ground or threat to Trump.
The move came as the U.S. State Department warned of escalating tensions in the Middle East and urged Americans to reconsider travel to the region.
United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres and Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) chief Jasem Mohamed Albudaiwi have condemned Houthi attacks on Saudi Arabia, warning that strikes targeting civilian objects pose a serious threat to regional peace and security.
The meeting in New York also focused on GCC-UN cooperation and regional diplomatic efforts. The talks came after a series of Saudi alerts and a Houthi drone interception near Taif that killed one person and injured two.
Yemen’s Houthis said they launched missiles and drones at “sensitive” sites in Riyadh, while Saudi Arabia said its air defences intercepted a missile fired toward the capital on Saturday (19 September). Reuters footage showed flames and a large plume of black smoke near Riyadh airport, although the exact source was not immediately clear.
The Houthis also claimed an attack on an Aramco facility in Yanbu, a major Saudi oil export hub. Saudi authorities said they had also foiled attacks targeting Bish, Farasan, Taif and Yanbu.
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