Iran live updates: Saudi Arabia issues safety alerts covering Jeddah, Mecca

Iran-backed Houthi rebels have been firing on Saudi Arabia from Yemen. President Donald Trump announced "major combat operations" against Iran on Feb. 28, with massive joint U.S.-Israeli strikes targeting military, government and infrastructure sites. Delegations from the U.S. and Iran entered negotiations in June aimed at a war-ending deal based on a memorandum of understanding signed by both countries. Those talks broke down as the U.S. and Iran continued to exchange strikes, with the strategic Strait of Hormuz as the primary flashpoint. Trump then said in August that the U.S. would launch a "crushing economic operation" to force Tehran into submission. The Saudi General Directorate of Civil Defence on Thursday issued safety alerts for five regions amid continued cross-border hostilities with the Iran-backed Houthi rebels in Yemen. The directorate posted safety alerts to X for the regions of Yanbu, Tabuk, Taif, Mecca and the capital region Jeddah. All warnings were lifted soon after they were announced, with the directorate saying that the "danger has passed." Senior Iranian figures praised Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian's Wednesday address to the United Nations General Assembly, in which he said Tehran "will never bow" to U.S. threats. Maj. Gen.

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