US-Iran standoff: Donald Trump cuts weekend short as Middle East tensions rise
Iran sends Washington conditions for ending war as US renews Middle East travel warning
Trump cut short his Camp David weekend and returned to the White House as tensions mounted across the Middle East. Saudi Arabia said it intercepted a Houthi ballistic missile targeting Riyadh, while the US issued fresh travel warnings. Iran said it had conveyed conditions for ending the war, as Washington reported oil flows through the Strait of Hormuz. Israeli strikes in Gaza and Lebanon also continued. Follow all the latest developments here:
US President Donald Trump cut short a weekend at Camp David to return unexpectedly to the White House on Saturday, as tensions rose in the Middle East.
There was no explanation from the administration why Trump was no longer returning on Sunday from Camp David, a secluded presidential complex in rural Maryland, as had been previously announced.
The change in plan came as the Saudi-led coalition fighting Yemen's Houthis said on Saturday that the Iran-backed group fired a ballistic missile at Riyadh at dawn, after a fire broke out near the Saudi capital's international airport.
The State Department and a string of US embassies issued security alerts to Americans.
The alerts cited "the potential for unforeseen escalation" and noted that "Iranian-supported Houthis have engaged in hostilities against Saudi Arabia, including civilian airports."
"This military conflict has the potential to escalate rapidly," the State Department warning said. "Americans outside the Middle East should seriously reconsider travel to and through the region."
Saudi Arabia on Saturday said that Yemen's Houthi rebels tried to attack Riyadh with a ballistic missile, the first time the Saudi capital has been targeted since the escalation in fighting with the Iran-backed rebels opened a new front in the Iran war.
The statement said the attack was intercepted. Some residents in Riyadh heard an explosion, and later some saw a plume of smoke near the airport. There were no reports of casualties or damage.
The statement also said the Houthis tried to attack civilian infrastructure in the Red Sea port city of Yanbu - where a key Saudi pipeline ends - and in Taif, Baysh and Farasan but they were thwarted, giving no further details.
The Houthis earlier claimed, without providing evidence, that they had targeted "sensitive sites" in Riyadh and facilities of Saudi oil giant Aramco in Yanbu, causing "massive fires." Aramco, the world's largest oil company, did not respond to a request for comment.
The head of Iran's Supreme National Security Council, Mohsen Rezaei, told Al Jazeera in an interview that Iran has conveyed its conditions for ending the war to the US via Qatar and it is waiting for President Donald Trump's response.
It was not clear when the conditions were shared. Rezaei said they include ending the war on all fronts, releasing assets seized from Iran and ending the US naval blockade of Iranian ports. Earlier US-Iran negotiations fell apart.
He also said Iran wants the fighting involving Yemen and Saudi Arabia to end.
The US State Department on Saturday renewed a blanket travel alert for Americans in or traveling to the Middle East, warning that the conflict with Iran "has the potential to escalate rapidly."
Meanwhile, at least 11 US embassies in the region issued a warning that travel disruptions are possible.
The head of US Central Command said the military has supported the transit of 1 billion barrels of oil through the Strait of Hormuz over the past two months and claimed that Iran has "exported zero barrels" because of a US blockade.
Adm. Brad Cooper said the strait's primary transit lanes have been cleared of mines, and the volume of oil, natural gas and cargo transiting over the past two weeks is the highest it has been in six months - or shortly after the war began with US and Israeli strikes.
But monitors say shipping traffic remains well below prewar levels. Iran continues to attack ships as it asserts control over the waterway through which about one-fifth of the world's traded oil and natural gas passed before the war.
Iran's state TV said a man identified as Hossein Pedram was executed after being convicted on charges of spying for Israel's intelligence agency Mossad.
The report said Pedram shared classified information on "sensitive military sites" in Iran's Isfahan province. It didn't say how he accessed the information. He was reportedly arrested after those sites, which included missile bases, were targeted in last year's 12-day air war by the US and Israel.
A recent surge of executions in Iran has prompted an international outcry by rights groups.
Pakistan's Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar discussed uninterrupted energy supplies and safe passage for commercial ships during a telephone call with Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi.
Pakistan's Foreign Ministry said in a statement that Dar cited the potential effects of disruptions on developing countries and global supply chains.
Rising energy prices have increased pressure on Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif's government. An Islamist party has threatened to march on the capital, Islamabad, unless the government lowers fuel prices.
Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan suggested Turkey could provide military support to Saudi Arabia under a recently signed defense pact.
Asked in a TV interview about the possibility of the three-member alliance, which also includes Pakistan, engaging in military action against Yemen's Houthis, Fidan said Turkey would "face no difficulty in meeting" any military needs.
"We observe very serious attacks on Saudi Arabia's territorial integrity and sovereignty," he told broadcaster NTV. "We have an alliance agreement in place and we stand by our word."
Gaza's Health Ministry and Shifa Hospital officials say three men were killed by Israeli strikes in Gaza City and the nearby Jabaliya refugee camp.
The Israeli military said it struck "military operatives."
The heaviest fighting between Israel and Hamas has subsided since a ceasefire last October, but Israeli fire has killed more than 13,780 Palestinians in Gaza since then, according to Gaza's Health Ministry.
Israel's military also said it struck targets in southern Lebanon associated with the Hezbollah militant group after two soldiers were wounded when their vehicle drove over an explosive device in an area occupied by Israeli troops.
Lebanon's state-run National News Agency reported three Israeli airstrikes on the southern town of Nabatiyeh al-Fawqa, adding that the third strike almost hit paramedics heading to the area, but no one was hurt.
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