Trump Says Iran War Nearing End as Houthi-Saudi Fighting Escalates

U.S. President Donald Trump said Wednesday that the conflict with Iran is hopefully “toward the end of the war,” now in its seventh month, even as fighting between Saudi Arabia and Iran-backed Houthi forces intensified across the Red Sea corridor. Speaking to reporters, Trump also claimed he has spoken with Iranians “directly,” according to an Al Jazeera live blog of the Sept. 17 developments. Formal negotiations to end the war have not resumed since an interim June agreement collapsed within weeks, Reuters reported, underscoring the gap between Trump’s optimism and the stalled diplomacy track.

Saudi aircraft have conducted extensive strikes in Yemen as Houthi fighters launch drones and missiles at Saudi cities and infrastructure. Houthi-controlled television reported fresh Saudi air strikes Thursday in Hajjah province near the Red Sea coast and around Taiz further inland. The Houthis, who have seized Yemen’s entire Red Sea coast since last week in a rapid advance, say the Saudi Air Force has flown hundreds of sorties in recent days. On Wednesday the group claimed it shot down a Saudi F-15 fighter jet and overnight released video of fighters at charred wreckage holding aircraft debris bearing Saudi insignia.

The spillover threatens energy routes already strained by the wider Middle East war that began when the United States and Israel attacked Iran in February. Before the conflict, roughly a fifth of global oil and liquefied natural gas moved through the Strait of Hormuz along Iran’s coast; Iran says the strait remains closed until Washington lifts its blockade of Iranian ports, while the U.S. Navy continues efforts to guide shipping and enforce that blockade. Saudi Arabia’s East-West Pipeline—an alternative path that pumps crude across the peninsula for Red Sea export—has been shut since it was struck last week in an attack Riyadh said originated with Iran-backed militias operating from Iraq. Oil prices, which have hovered this week between about $100 and $110 a barrel, eased on reports that Saudi Arabia was offering additional crude cargoes via Oman.

U.S. Central Command spokesperson Tim Hawkins said CENTCOM is monitoring the Yemen conflict and providing on-the-ground support to Saudi partners, Al Jazeera reported. Trump has so far rebuffed Saudi pleas for direct U.S. combat help against the Houthis, who reached a ceasefire with Washington last year after a two-month U.S. bombing campaign. Yemeni government forces are trying to hold several fronts, including the strategic Kahbub mountains near Bab al-Mandeb and approaches to Taiz, with Saudi air support. War in Yemen and attacks on Saudi Arabia have also jeopardized the Bab el-Mandeb “Gate of Tears” at the mouth of the Red Sea after Houthi advances along the coast and nearby islands.

United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres urged de-escalation, diplomacy, civilian protection, and restored freedom of navigation as displacement mounts. The International Organization for Migration says more than 100,000 Yemenis have been displaced by the latest fighting, mostly inside Yemen, with some families fleeing by boat across the Red Sea to Africa. Refugees arriving in Djibouti described rough crossings and villages emptied after Houthi fighters arrived and airstrikes intensified, Reuters reported—another human cost of a war Trump says he hopes is finally nearing its end.