Yemen’s Iran-aligned Houthi militants fired on Saudi oil installations in two ports on the Red Sea coast on Saturday, but the US held back from launching air strikes on Iran for the first night in two weeks.

Washington gave no immediate explanation of why it had abruptly halted a streak of 13 nights of escalating strikes in retaliation for Iranian attacks on shipping in the Strait of Hormuz since an interim deal to end hostilities collapsed.

There were also no reports on Saturday of attacks from Iran on its Gulf neighbours, like those which have been taking place daily in response to the US attacks.

Axios, citing two unidentified sources familiar with the matter, said President Donald Trump on Friday directed the military not to conduct new strikes against Iran. On Saturday, a senior US official told Reuters that Trump “has always been clear that his preference is diplomacy, but he has shown Iran what will happen if they fail to come to the table in a serious way.”

On Friday, Trump said the ‌US and Iran were in talks to ​negotiate an end ​to their conflict, but ⁠repeated that Tehran ​was not yet ready ​for a deal.

Despite the lull in the Gulf, fighting between Iran‘s Houthi allies and Saudi Arabia was a sign that the war, which has already disrupted energy supplies through the Strait of Hormuz, could be spreading to a second major shipping route, and reigniting Yemen’s own civil war.

War threatens to spread to Yemen

Houthi military spokesperson Yahya Saree said the group had successfully struck sites belonging to Saudi state oil giant Aramco in Jizan and Yanbu.

Two Asia-based trading sources said that they had been informed of potential damage to fuel and oil storage sites at Jizan. Aramco 2222.SE did not respond to requests for comment.

In Yanbu, two ballistic missiles aimed at oil installations were intercepted by a US-made Patriot battery operated in Saudi Arabia by the Greek military under an agreement with Riyadh, Greek security sources said.

Yanbu is Saudi Arabia’s main Red Sea oil port, where millions of barrels a day are loaded, and has become the main route out for Saudi oil skirting the Strait of Hormuz, which has been blockaded by Iran. Jizan, on the Red Sea close to the Yemeni border, is the site of a refinery with a capacity of 400,000 barrels per day.

In Yemen, the air force of the Saudi-backed, internationally recognised government, which has opposed the Houthis for more than a decade, struck Houthi missile and drone launch sites and arms depots in the Marib and al-Jawf provinces, Yemeni officials said.

Earlier, the Saudi-led military alliance said it had bombed Houthi military positions on Friday in the Red Sea port of Hodeidah.

The Yemeni officials said both sides in Yemen’s civil war were mobilising forces along the front.

Saudi-led coalition strikes Hodeidah

Saudi Arabia has led an Arab coalition battling against the Houthis for more than a decade since the Iran-aligned fighters captured Yemen’s capital, Sanaa.

The Yemeni civil war has been paused under a ceasefire since 2022. But that truce broke down this month, with the Houthis effectively joining the wider war their Iranian allies have waged since being attacked by the US and Israel.

The Houthis have declared a naval blockade of Saudi Arabia over the past week, and Houthi leader Abdul Malik al-Houthi said all Saudi oil facilities could be targets.

Global oil prices soared this week, with Brent crude spiking above $100 a barrel for the first time since May.

Trump on Friday vowed “major military punishment” for Tehran and the Houthis after the Houthis struck two Saudi tankers in the Red Sea.

An interim truce meant to end the war effectively collapsed two weeks ago, with US forces striking targets in southern Iran in response to Iranian disruption of shipping in the Strait of Hormuz.

Saudi Arabia’s Civil Defense issued a fresh precautionary warning for residents of Yanbu Governorate on Saturday before later announcing that the potential danger had passed.

In a post on X, the Civil Defense said the National Early Warning Platform had issued an alert for Yanbu Governorate, urging residents to follow official safety instructions. The authorities did not disclose the nature of the potential threat.

A short time later, around 7:25 UAE time, the Civil Defense confirmed the situation had returned to normal.

“Alert: The danger has passed in Yanbu Governorate. For your safety, continue following Civil Defense instructions and avoid gathering and filming. In case of emergency, call (911),” the authority said.

The latest warning came after Saudi authorities earlier issued similar alerts for both Yanbu Governorate on the Red Sea coast and Jazan Province in the country’s southwest.

Officials subsequently confirmed that the danger had passed in both areas, with no reports of casualties or damage.

The alerts come amid heightened regional tensions after Saudi Arabia resumed military operations against Houthi targets in Yemen.

Late on Friday, the Saudi-led coalition said it had launched what it described as a proportionate military response against Houthi military targets in Yemen’s western Hodeidah province after the group targeted commercial vessels in the Red Sea.

The coalition said Hodeidah Port had not been targeted and stressed that Yemeni ports remain open to maritime traffic. The Houthis, however, accused Saudi Arabia of carrying out air strikes on Kamaran Island and telecommunications facilities in Hodeidah.

The renewed hostilities follow the Houthis’ announcement earlier this week that they would ban Saudi-linked shipping in the Red Sea and the Bab al-Mandab Strait.

Saudi Arabia responded by pledging a “firm and forceful” response and introducing measures aimed at protecting commercial shipping transiting one of the world’s busiest maritime trade routes.

Authorities have not indicated whether Saturday’s warnings in Yanbu and Jazan were directly linked to the ongoing military escalation.

US missiles struck targets across Iran on Friday and President Donald Trump vowed “major military punishment” for Tehran and its Houthi allies in Yemen, though he once again left open the door to a diplomatic deal with Iran.

Two weeks after the collapse of an interim truce meant to end the war, Iranian armed forces responded by firing at US bases in neighbouring Arab countries and warning that they could strike non-military buildings there used by US personnel.

Trump has threatened in recent days to widen targets to Iran’s energy plants and bridges, send ground forces to seize its oil hub of Kharg Island, and bomb a deep-underground nuclear-linked site known as Pickaxe Mountain.

On Friday, he said he had not yet made a decision on new major strikes, however.

“We are talking to them,” Trump told reporters at the White House. “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.”

Asked what the exit strategy was 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.”

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

Later in the day, Trump said Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu would visit the United States next week. The two leaders are expected to meet on Tuesday as the US-Israeli war on Iran completes five months.

The key waterway of the Strait of Hormuz, the entrance to the Gulf, has so far been the focus of a war that has killed thousands in almost five months, stoked global inflation and fanned fears of an economic downturn.

The Houthis, who control northern and western Yemen, have also declared a naval blockade of Saudi Arabia, which has diverted millions of barrels of oil by pipeline each day to the Red Sea to skirt Iran’s near-total blockade of Hormuz.

After the Houthis said they had struck two Saudi tankers in the Red Sea on Thursday, Trump said he would hold Iran accountable for any further attacks by the fighters.

A Saudi vessel sustained minor hull damage from an attack in the Red Sea on Friday, state news agency SPA said.

The Saudi-led coalition in Yemen said it struck Houthi military sites there, saying they were used to threaten commercial shipping.

Reuters could not immediately verify the reports.

Iran threatens US forces

The US military launched air strikes on Iran late on Thursday and early on Friday, racking up 13 consecutive nights of attacks.

In a statement on X, the Iranian health ministry said 59 people had been killed and 666 wounded since the resumption of clashes with US forces in late June.

Iranian media cited the head of Iran’s top joint military command as saying Iran would kill a member of the US forces for every Iranian killed.

The war has killed 18 US service members. The Pentagon has said 100 service members had been injured since July 7. Officials have told Reuters that more than 500 US troops have been injured so far.

Pakistan exploring path for talks, sources say

Brent futures stood down more than $4 at a little over $96 on Friday, after the previous day’s attack on the Saudi tankers in the Red Sea’s Bab el-Mandeb strait boosted oil prices 7 per cent to $100 per barrel for the first time since May.

Sources said Pakistan was exploring a path towards resuming stalled talks between the US and Iran to end the war, after China initiated a push.

Exploratory discussions took place during a visit by Iran’s Interior Minister Eskandar Momeni to Islamabad this week — his second in the last 10 days, three Pakistani sources said.

Tankers rerouting, shipping insurance rises

The Houthi attacks forced several other tankers to turn around and head north through the Suez Canal, which would be a much longer route to Asia, by sailing around Africa.

Still, half of the 18 ships exiting Bab el-Mandeb on Thursday were carrying crude oil, including two Chinese supertankers, while the number of tankers crossing through the Strait of Hormuz fell to just one, the lowest since May 7.

US warns citizens in Mideast to exercise caution

The Iranian army said it had attacked US military equipment depots at Al-Adiri, officially named Camp Buehring, in northern Kuwait, and the positions of US troops at Camp Arifjan and at Camp Doha, near Kuwait City.

In the early evening, Kuwait said its air defences were intercepting “hostile” targets launched from Iran.

Iran’s Revolutionary Guards said they had significantly damaged a surveillance tower used by the US Fifth Fleet in Bahrain.

The Ministry of Human Resources and Emiratisation (MoHRE) has issued a new guide outlining the existing procedures governing the link between work permit issuance and renewal and valid worker health insurance coverage, reinforcing compliance while confirming that no additional obligations have been introduced for employers.

The ministry said the guide is designed to clarify and regulate processes that are already in force by automatically integrating them into the work permit issuance and renewal system. The move forms part of broader efforts to strengthen labour market governance and improve the efficiency of government services while safeguarding the rights of employers and workers, a WAM report said.

Read more-Major WPS update: MoHRE unveils new compliance approach for UAE businesses

By electronically linking work permit services with the verification of workers’ health insurance coverage, MoHRE aims to simplify compliance checks through its digital platforms. The ministry said the integration will help ensure uninterrupted health insurance coverage for employees, accelerate administrative procedures and make the overall process more seamless for businesses.

Existing requirements reaffirmed

According to the ministry, the guide reiterates that work permits cannot be issued until a valid health insurance policy has been verified in accordance with the regulations and standards approved by MoHRE.

The document also clearly outlines the conditions governing health insurance policies, including compliance with minimum approved coverage requirements and maintaining coverage throughout the validity of the work permit. It further stipulates that workers must not bear any portion of the cost of obtaining or renewing health insurance and that policies cannot be cancelled during the permit period in a way that leaves employees without coverage.

MoHRE said the guide is intended to provide greater transparency for employers while ensuring consistent implementation of existing regulations across the labour market.

The ministry added that the nationwide health insurance system for workers was fully implemented at the beginning of 2025 following a Cabinet Decision extending mandatory health insurance to private-sector employees and domestic workers in the northern emirates.

The nationwide rollout complements health insurance systems already operating in other emirates, ensuring comprehensive worker coverage across the UAE. According to MoHRE, the initiative supports employee welfare, promotes a decent standard of living for workers and enhances the competitiveness of the country’s labour market by reinforcing a sustainable and transparent regulatory framework.