Saudi Arabia launched airstrikes against 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 subsequently issued emergency alerts for Jizan province when the Houthis claimed responsibility for a missile attack on the city of Jizan.

Early on Saturday, Houthi media Ansarollah said on Telegram that a “Yemeni missile attack” had caused fires in the Saudi city of Jizan.

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

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

“We disabled the tanker after the crew attempted to overcome the blockage at least four times before,” Navy Capt. Tim Hawkins, a spokesman for US Central Command, told AFP.

“The crew was repeatedly warned, failed to comply, and U.S. forces on site disabled the ship after shooting into its engine room,” he said. “The ship is no longer transiting to Iran.”

Earlier, a delegation from Oman arrived in Tehran, Iran’s capital, for talks over the Strait of Hormuz, Iran’s state news agency IRNA reported. Oman controls the southern coast of the strait.

The United States and Iran have exchanged fire for nearly two weeks, and Iran said on Friday that it had carried out drone strikes against US military facilities and bases across the Middle East in retaliation for the 13th consecutive night of US strikes against the country.

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

“We’re talking to them. I think they’re serious. I think…they’re being by far the most serious we’ve seen, but that doesn’t mean we’re getting there,” he said.

Asked about his exit strategy from the war with Iran, Trump said: “There’s a military way out where we just continue as we are, and we can even give it a stronger dose, and it’s wiping out everything they have. Or there’s a smarter strategy: make a deal.”

But he added: “We’re ready and loaded. We’re ready to go.”

Growing concerns about new threats to shipping in the Red Sea from Yemen’s Houthis helped push the price of crude oil back above $100 a barrel this week, the highest level since May.

But it fell again on Friday afternoon, with Brent futures falling more than US$4 (£3.00) to just over US$96 (£72.07), according to news agency Reuters, which reported that the drop came after the successful passage through the Bab el-Mandeb Strait by two Chinese-chartered supertankers.

Following the exchange of fire early on Saturday, Houthi media Ansarollah posted on Telegram: “The Saudi enemy’s attack on civilian facilities in Hodeida and Kamaran Island constitutes a dangerous escalation,” adding: “We affirm that these recent crimes will not go unanswered.”

Saudi authorities did not immediately respond.

The United States and the United Kingdom will hold a conference in London next week to discuss the Strait of Hormuz, the BBC understands. US Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth and Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Dan Caine will attend the conference, which was first reported by Axios.

It comes as Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is scheduled to meet the US president at the White House on Tuesday.

In June, the United States and Iran agreed to a 14-point Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) to halt military operations and reopen the Strait of Hormuz, as well as reach an agreement to end the war within the next 60 days.

But three weeks after it was signed, Trump declared the ceasefire “over” following Iranian attacks on ships in the strait and US strikes in response.