President Donald Trump said he hoped the seven-month war with Iran was nearing an end as the conflict escalated, with Saudi aircraft striking Yemen and Houthi fighters launching drones and missiles at Saudi cities.
The Iran-backed Houthis' lightning advance in Yemen along the Red Sea, their attacks on Saudi Arabia and damage to Saudi Arabia's East-West oil pipeline have extended Tehran's reach in the war and heightened global oil supply risks.
As the war expands into a new theater, the U.S. tightened its travel warning for Saudi Arabia, banning government employees from traveling within 30 kilometers (20 miles) of the Yemen border.
Still, just hours after reports of fighting between the Houthis and Saudi Arabia, Trump told reporters Wednesday evening: "Hopefully we are toward the end of the war."
Referring to Iran, he said: "They want to make a deal. We'll see how that works out." He also said he had heard directly from Iran, without elaborating, reiterating previous comments.
Trump has offered shifting goals and timelines for the war, which began Feb. 28 when the U.S. and Israel attacked Iran and Tehran struck Israel and U.S. bases in Gulf states.
The war's extension into Yemen threatens to worsen the global energy supply shortage caused by the conflict, which has disrupted shipping through the Strait of Hormuz. The strait carried about 20% of global oil and LNG before the conflict.
Traders say a prolonged closure of Saudi Arabia's East-West pipeline could cut off as much as 4% of global oil supply. Saudi Arabia has not said when operations might resume.
The price of Brent crude hovered about $108 a barrel Wednesday, close to its highest levels since May. The politically sensitive average retail price of diesel fuel in the U.S. hit another record high, above $6.30 a gallon for the first time.
But oil prices fell in early Thursday trading as reports that Saudi Arabia was offering extra crude cargoes through Oman reduced fears of supply disruptions in the Middle East.
Brent crude futures dropped $1.24, or 1.2%, to $104.59 a barrel by 0049 GMT, while U.S. West Texas Intermediate futures were down $1.14, or 1.1%, at $101.29.
The rise in oil and gas prices due to the U.S.-Israeli conflict with Iran has become a major issue for Trump's Republican Party in the run-up to the November midterm elections.
Axios reported late Wednesday that Trump was expected to meet Gulf leaders on the sidelines of the U.N. General Assembly next Tuesday to discuss the next steps in the conflict.
Citing unidentified sources, the news outlet said Trump would meet with leaders or foreign ministers from the Gulf Cooperation Council countries: Saudi Arabia, United Arab Emirates, Qatar, Bahrain, Kuwait and Oman. The State Department and the White House did not respond to requests for comment.
The Houthis Wednesday released battlefield video of fighters seizing armored vehicles from Saudi-backed forces. The video also showed warplanes flying overhead and huge explosions billowing into the sky from desert dunes.
Houthi military spokesman Yahya Saree said his group had launched new drone and missile strikes on the major Saudi Red Sea oil port of Yanbu and at a southern Saudi airbase at Khamis Mushait. He did not say when the strikes took place.
Saree said Saudi forces had carried out as many as 450 airstrikes on Yemen this week. Officials in the Saudi-backed government controlling southern Yemen acknowledged their forces and Saudi Arabia's forces were conducting airstrikes on Houthi positions, though Riyadh has not confirmed them.
Saudi Arabia has led a coalition battling the Houthis since 2015. The conflict had largely quieted under a cease-fire in recent years but reignited when the Houthis declared a naval blockade against Saudi Arabia in July and fired at southern areas in the kingdom.
