APPLENEWS - STORY ADD
Iran live updates: Trump says US 'open' to 'concept' of negotiating deal with Iran
"I will determine whether or not the U.S.A. will choose to engage," Trump said.
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.
Key Headlines
Iran playing no role in Yemen fighting, Baqaei says
Iran "does not interfere in Yemeni affairs," Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Esmaeil Baqaei said in his Monday press conference, saying Iran has "no relations whatsoever with what is unfolding in Yemen."
Iran has long maintained a military and political relationship with the Houthis, with its adversaries accusing Tehran of training, funding and arming the Yemeni group as part of its so-called "Axis of Resistance."
Analysts have attributed Iranian assistance for the growth in scale and sophistication of the Houthi ballistic missile and drone arsenals, in particular.
Last week saw the start of a new round of intense fighting on Yemen's western Red Sea coast, between the Houthis and forces loyal to the Saudi-backed internationally-recognized Yemeni government.
Fighting was continuing as of Monday, according to reports. Clashes were reportedly ongoing in the area on the mainland near Perim Island, which sits in the middle of the strategic Bab el-Mandeb Strait.
-ABC News' Victoria Beaule
Saudi Arabia asked for Oman meeting postponement, Baqaei says
Saudi Arabia asked for the postponement of Monday's planned meeting between Iranian and Gulf state representatives in Oman, Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Esmaeil Baqaei told reporters during a Monday press conference.
Omani Foreign Minister Badr Albusaidi announced on Sunday that the meeting was postponed "in the interest of consensus." No new date has been set.
-ABC News' Victoria Beaule
No nuclear activity at Pickaxe Mountain, Tehran says
Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Esmaeil Baqaei said Monday that "it cannot be claimed there are nuclear facilities," at Pickaxe Mountain, adding that any claim to the contrary had "no basis whatsoever."
President Donald Trump said last week that "somebody said there was a little movement at the site," warning Iran "not to get cute because we will have to hit them very hard."
Pickaxe Mountain sits around a mile south of the Natanz Nuclear Facility, which long served as Iran's primary uranium enrichment center. The Natanz site was among those attacked by the U.S. in June 2025 as part of Operation Midnight Hammer.
-ABC News' Victoria Beaule
Houthis claim attack on Saudi air base with 'dozens' of missiles, drones
The Iran-backed Houthi rebels in Yemen on Monday claimed to have launched a "wide-scale military operation" targeting the King Khalid Air Base in southwestern Saudi Arabia.
In a statement posted to Telegram, Houthi spokesperson Yahya Saree said the group used "dozens of ballistic missiles and drones" to attack the air base in the city of Khamis Mushait, with targets including hangars housing combat aircraft, radars, runways and ammunition depots.
The Saudi Defense Ministry did not immediately comment on the Houthi claim.
Saree said the latest Houthi strikes were in part a response to the recent intensification of Saudi airstrikes against the group. Saudi aircraft, he said, have conducted more than 300 strikes in the last five days.