Swapna Kumbar , Bengaluru - The Houthis said they launched a missile attack on the Saudi city of Jizan, while the U.S. military said it fired on and disabled a tanker that was trying to evade its blockade on Iranian ports. President Donald Trump described the Iran talks as “by far the most serious that we’ve seen,” suggesting diplomacy is still active even as the military confrontation continues.

According to U.S. Central Command, the tanker ignored repeated warnings before American forces disabled it by firing into its engine room, stopping it from continuing toward Iran. CENTCOM said the vessel had tried multiple times to run the blockade, underscoring how aggressively Washington is enforcing maritime restrictions around Iran.

On the Saudi front, the Houthis claimed responsibility for the missile strike on Jizan through their media channel, and Saudi authorities had already issued alerts to residents in Jizan and Yanbu. The claim fits the pattern of widening regional spillover, with attacks and retaliation now affecting both the Red Sea and the Gulf.

Trump’s description of the negotiations as the most serious yet points to a parallel diplomatic track. Even so, the absence of a new U.S. strike announcement for Iran, together with the tanker incident and Houthi claims, shows that the conflict remains volatile despite ongoing talks.

The latest developments suggest a precarious mix of escalation and negotiation across West Asia. The situation remains fluid, with shipping security, Saudi border areas, and U.S.-Iran diplomacy all under pressure at the same time.