US President Donald Trump has said he had not yet decided whether to launch major strikes on Iran, as the renewed conflict threatened to widen across the region with Saudi Arabia striking Yemen's Houthi group.
Trump said on Friday he would hold off on a major attacks as Tehran was now getting "serious" in talks with Washington, for now dialing back reports that he was increasingly frustrated with the state of the war and mulling a large-scale military attacks against Iran.
"No I haven't," Trump told journalists in the Oval Office when asked if he had made a decision on hitting Iran hard.
"Look, we're talking to them right now. I think they're getting more and more serious as the days go by, for maybe the obvious reason."
Trump said Iran had a choice between making a deal or facing a "much higher level" of strikes, after nearly two weeks of US attacks that have left a ceasefire in tatters.
Trump added that he did not know what the "tipping point" would be for a decision, but reiterated that his red line would be if Iran was close to developing a nuclear weapon.
The United States says it is carrying out the strikes to stop Iran closing the crucial Strait of Hormuz.
Iran has responded with strikes on US bases that have killed four service members.
The Iranian military said on Friday it had carried out attacks targeting US military assets in Bahrain, Jordan and Kuwait in retaliation for Washington's latest strikes.
Iran's Revolutionary Guard Corps, meanwhile, said they had targeted an Amazon data centre in Bahrain, according to state media, though neither the US tech giant nor Bahrain has commented on the claim.
There was also no confirmation from the US of any targeting of its facilities or personnel.
In Bahrain, sirens sounded again early Saturday, the interior ministry said.
"Citizens and residents are urged to remain calm and head to the nearest safe place," the ministry said on X.
China calls for negotiations
In his comments, Trump said Russia and China were not arming Iran.
On the diplomatic front, Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi met his Iranian counterpart Seyed Abbas Araghchi in Kyrgyzstan.
Wang called for an early resumption of negotiations and the implementation of a memorandum of understanding aimed at easing tensions in the Middle East and the Gulf region, Xinhua reported.
This referred to the preliminary deal aimed at ending the war which has collapsed as the foes fight to break a deadlock over the Strait of Hormuz.
"The door to negotiations, once opened, should not be closed, and as long as there is hope for peace, it should not be given up," Wang said.
Widening conflict
In a new front of the war, Houthi group has launched attacks on oil tankers in Red Sea shipping lanes after declaring a maritime blockade of Saudi Arabia.
In response Saudi Arabia launched strikes on Yemen's Houthi-held Hudaida.
The flare-up followed an attack on a Saudi ship, days after the group declared the blockade — a move that threatens the ability of the world's top oil exporter to supply global markets.
This comes on top of Iran's parallel blockade of the Strait of Hormuz, Riyadh's only other maritime route. US is also stopping ships from reaching Iranian ports.
People in Hudaida heard explosions, with one witness saying the blasts sounded close to the port.
"The terrorist Houthi military... targeted commercial ships in the Red Sea," Turki al-Maliki, a spokesman for the Saudi-led coalition, said on X.
The coalition had "carried out a decisive and strong response," he added.
