Rubio, Saudi Arabia’s foreign minister hold talks on Yemen, Hormuz Strait

Top US and Saudi diplomats discuss cooperation on security challenges, including escalating hostilities with Yemen’s Houthis.United States Secretary of State Marco Rubio has held talks with his Saudi Arabian counterpart, Prince Faisal bin Farhan Al Saud, on cooperation in regional security, including shipping safety in the Strait of Hormuz and escalating hostilities in Yemen.The talks in Washington, DC, on Monday came as the Iran" class="entity-link entity-event" data-entity-id="38678" data-entity-type="event">US-Israel war on Iran enters its eighth month, with diplomacy at a stalemate as mediators continue to pass messages between the parties.Recommended Stories list of 3 itemslist 1 of 3Iran touts Hormuz attacks as oil flows increase despite tensionslist 2 of 3Yemen’s health system could collapse in some areas, minister warnslist 3 of 3‘Better deal’: What’s behind Trump’s rejection of Iran’s truce offer?end of listThe conflict has spilled into Yemen, where the Houthis, who are backed by Iran, have launched an offensive along the Red Sea coast and struck Saudi Arabia, including airports and oil infrastructure.In a post on X, Rubio said he and Prince Faisal discussed “our bilateral cooperation in regional security and stability, including in Iran, Gaza, Sudan, and Yemen”.The Saudi SPA state news agency reported that the two diplomats held talks on “the security and political developments in the region, the situation in Yemen, as well as the efforts being made to address it”. The two men also addressed protecting “the security of navigation and freedom of passage” through the Strait of Hormuz, as well as the Bab al-Mandeb strait off the coast of Yemen, which the news agency said contributes to regional stability and the continued flow of trade.The ministers stressed continued diplomatic coordination on regional crises, the agency said.The meeting followed US media reports that Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman had sought US military help against the Houthis in Yemen. Washington declined to carry out strikes but agreed to provide intelligence and targeting support, the Reuters news agency reported, citing sources.