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WASHINGTON: Iran and the United States exchanged new threats on Sunday, with President Donald Trump warning Iran would fail \u200ceconomically or face its leadership being wiped out if it didn\u2019t make a deal, and the Iranian military saying it would retaliate harshly to any fresh attack.<\/strong><\/p>\n The conflict has looked stalemated for months, with no sign either side was ready for concessions even as it has deepened a global energy crisis, cratered swathes of Iran\u2019s economy and spilled over into new regional escalations.<\/span><\/p>\n In a \u200bphone call with a Fox News reporter, Trump said Iran\u2019s leaders should make a deal, rot economically or be wiped out, the reporter said.<\/span><\/p>\n However, \u200bwith Iran\u2019s President Masoud Pezeshkian expected in New York this week for the United Nations General Assembly, Trump said he would \u2060be open to meeting him, the Fox reporter added.<\/span><\/p>\n Trump has repeatedly made vague threats of major military escalations during the conflict that began with US and Israeli \u200bstrikes on February 28, without carrying them out.<\/span><\/p>\n Earlier, Iran\u2019s military central command said any new attack would trigger sustained retaliation against US bases and interests and that \u200bWashington\u2019s regional allies would be considered parties to the conflict.<\/span><\/p>\n The Iranian military added that it had information that an attack was being prepared, without elaborating on what that information might be.<\/span><\/p>\n US Gulf allies have already been badly scarred by a war that the US and Israel launched with no warning, bringing their cities under Iranian fire and hammering their economies with the \u200bcrucial Strait of Hormuz waterway blockaded.<\/span><\/p>\n On Saturday their predicament worsened further, with Yemen\u2019s Iran-backed Houthi group launching missile and drone strikes at the Saudi capital after having \u200bmade sudden military gains in Yemen\u2019s reignited civil war earlier this month.<\/span><\/p>\n Reuters video showed a massive plume of black smoke billowing from the area of Riyadh\u2019s main international airport following booms \u200covernight.<\/span><\/p>\n The US \u2060State Department issued a security alert citing the Houthi hostilities. It said there was potential for unforeseen escalation in the Middle East, and Americans should exercise more vigilance and be aware of possible flight cancellations and airspace closures.<\/span><\/p>\n Saudi Arabia did not comment on the incident, though a Saudi-led coalition fighting the Houthis said it had foiled other attacks on the kingdom.<\/span><\/p>\n Recent escalation by the Houthis has forced Riyadh into a painful dilemma: continue airstrikes on the group to stop it seizing more Yemeni \u200bterritory or step back in the hopes \u200bof averting drone strikes on critical \u2060infrastructure.<\/span><\/p>\n The Houthi gains along the coast mean the group\u2019s forces now sit on the Bab el-Mandeb Strait, giving them easier control over shipping travelling between the Red Sea and Asia and the ability to blockade the crucial waterway.<\/span><\/p>\n With Iran already \u200bhaving blockaded most shipping in the Strait of Hormuz, the oil-rich Gulf\u2019s energy exports are now almost entirely cut \u200boff from global markets, \u2060adding to pressure on oil prices.<\/span><\/p>\n A US blockade of Iranian ports is meanwhile stopping Iran from selling its own oil, contributing to major problems in the Islamic Republic\u2019s economy.<\/span><\/p>\n Despite the economic damage, there is little sign of a return to the interim ceasefire agreement that was struck in June but fell apart in July amid disputes over its terms.<\/span><\/p>\n Iran reiterated \u2060on Sunday that \u200bit would not reopen the Strait of Hormuz until the terms of that June agreement, as \u200bit interpreted them, were met.<\/span><\/p>\nHOUTHIS TARGET RIYADH<\/span><\/h2>\n
ENERGY EXPORTS BLOCKADED<\/span><\/h2>\n