Live updates: Iran war news as Tehran rejects temporary ceasefire, Trump sets deadline for Strait of Hormuz

Yemen’s Iran-backed Houthi rebels will uphold the ceasefire with the United States as long as Washington “adheres to its commitment to halt its aggression” against them, a senior official said.

The Houthis last month resumed launching ballistic missiles and drones at Israel in support of Iran. They have yet to launch attacks on shipping in the Red Sea or at US assets in the region, saying they do not intend to do so unless the war escalates.

“There is no intention to target any Muslim country except in response to aggression against Yemen,” senior Houthi leader Mohammed Ali Al Houthi said in comments communicated to CNN through the rebel group’s ministry of information.

Ali Al-Houthi added that the group’s objective “is to prevent the Red Sea from being used militarily against any Muslim country,” noting that it has the military capabilities to “protect” it.

The Houthis control most of Yemen’s Red Sea coast. For nearly two years, until May 2025, they attacked commercial ships they alleged had ties to Israel, forcing many major shipping companies to abandon one of the world’s busiest trade routes.

Should the war escalate, however, the Houthis have suggested they might close the Bab al Mandab Strait at the southern end of the Red Sea. Another Houthi official told CNN last week that it “is a viable option.”

Asked if the Houthis would target Saudi Red Sea ports, which Riyadh has been using to bypass the Strait of Hormuz, Ali Al-Houthi said “there is no intention to do so as long as Saudi Arabia adheres to de-escalation and does not join America and Israel in escalating the conflict against our country.”

Iran, which is closely allied with the Houthis, has been targeting Gulf Arab states hosting US bases in the region.

Al-Houthi insisted that the group’s decision to attack Israel was unilateral, and that its actions are “not at any request from anyone.”