Iran-US war latest: Tehran-backed Houthis move to seize Yemen highlands as Trump ‘calls off strikes’

The Iran -backed Houthis are pushing to seize strategic heights in Yemen and cut off the Red Sea coast ​from remaining areas held by Saudi-backed forces.

The Houthis continued with their lightning advance after US president Donald Trump reportedly called off American strikes on the group at the last minute.

The New York Times reported that the Trump administration had prepared to launch airstrikes against the Houthis on Sunday, after receiving fresh pleas from the Saudi crown prince.

However, Trump called off the airstrikes at the last minute, even as troops were loading bombs onto aircraft, according to the report.

Rashid al-Alimi, the Riyadh-based president of Yemen's Saudi-backed, internationally-recognised government, asked Trump by phone on Sunday for US ​military help, four sources told Reuters.

Riyadh was apparently struck on ⁠Saturday for the first time since the escalation began, with explosions heard and smoke visible near the airport. The Houthis said they had fired missiles at the Saudi capital; the Saudis have not commented.

Meanwhile, Iranian president Masoud Pezeshkian was on his way to New York for the UN General Assembly, just days after Donald Trump threatened to “blow the entire nation up”, referring to Iran.

G7 foreign ministers have called on Iran to end its arming ⁠and support of Houthis in Yemen, which they said constituted a dangerous pattern of escalation ⁠that ​risked undermining ⁠international trade and creating global instability.

"We condemn ⁠in the strongest terms ​the ⁠unacceptable continued strikes carried ‌out by the Houthis in Yemen and against the ‌Kingdom of Saudi ‌Arabia," the ministers of Britain, Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan ⁠and the US said in a statement.

"We call on ‌the Houthis to immediately ​cease all military actions, ‌all threats ⁠and attacks against civilian ⁠shipping, and to return to the ‌political ​process in ‌good faith."

Oil prices gained this morning as the market steadied after several days of declines, with investors awaiting developments on potential US-Iran talks at the United Nations General ​Assembly this week.

The Brent crude futures November contract gained 22 cents, or 0.22 per cent, ‌to $100.57 a barrel. The WTI October contract, which expires on Tuesday, crept up 2 cents, or 0.02 per cent, to $95.8 a barrel.

Houthi fighters pushed to seize strategic heights in Yemen to cut off the Red Sea coast ​from remaining areas held by Saudi-backed forces, after a report that US president Donald Trump had called off American strikes on the group at the last minute.

The New York Times reported that the Trump administration had prepared to launch airstrikes on Sunday against the Houthis after fresh pleas from the Saudi crown prince. But the newspaper said Trump called off the airstrikes at the last minute, even as troops were loading bombs onto aircraft.