US military halts attacks on Iran, tensions flare in Red Sea

The Trump administration has reportedly backed away from plans to ramp up attacks on Iran after nearly two weeks of intensified strikes.

Despite the Gulf lull, tensions further escalated in the region following Houthis' attacks on Saudi Arabia which could affect a second major shipping route and reignite Yemen's civil war.

The US Central Command on Friday said they had disabled merchant vessel M/T Lavine in the Gulf of Oman after it attempted to run the blockade for at least four times. The military then fired into the engine room of the Mozambique-flagged ship.

It was the second commercial ship to be disabled since the naval blockade has been reimposed. The American forces claim they have redirected 12 vessels.

Iran's Islamic Revolution Guard Corps says they had battered the US military in the past 15 days.

The enemy suffered heavy losses including 11 fighter aircraft and helicopters on the ground, 17 reconnaissance and operational drones and one F-15 fighter jet inside the shelter, according to a spokesman for the Guards.

Despite this, the fighting between the two sides abated for the first time in two weeks on Saturday while diplomatic efforts are underway to avert a return to an all-out war.

This after US President Donald Trump says negotiations with Iran were pressing on and described them as by far the "most serious" that they've seen.

CNN quoted a Pentagon source as saying the US military campaign was "on a hold" without elaborating on the duration, while a CBS report says Washington's suspension of strikes was meant to avoid disrupting an Omani delegation's visit to Tehran for talks on reopening the Strait of Hormuz.

Some Trump aides have reportedly raised concerns of depleting defense stockpiles, alienating allies in the Middle East and affecting energy supplies and the global economy.

Meanwhile, the war is spreading into the Red Sea.

Earlier on Saturday, Yemen's state broadcaster reported strikes on Houthi military sites including missile and rocket launch platforms and weapons depots in northern Yemen, which killed several of its members.

On the same day, Houthi rebels, who have declared closing the Bab el-Mandeb Strait, announced striking sites belonging to Saudi state oil company Aramco in the cities of Jizan and Yanbu.

The Aramco refinery in Jizan, located near the Yemeni border, can process up to 400,000 barrels of crude oil daily.

The group says they launched missiles and drones in response to the overnight coalition airstrikes on the Red Sea province of Hodeidah.

The Saudi-led coalition says the latest strikes were carried out to retaliate against Houthi attacks on commercial ships, insisting they did not target Hodeidah port, and that all Yemeni ports remain open and operational.

A spokesman accuses Houthis of threatening maritime navigation along the vital route for Saudi oil exports.