TEHRAN, IRAN – MARCH 15: People remove rubble from a house in Belyanak district that was damaged by a missile attack two days ago on March 15, 2026 in Tehran, Iran. The United States and Israel continued their joint offensive against Iran that began on February 28th. Iran retaliated by firing waves of missiles and drones at Israel and targeting US allies in the region. (Photo by Majid Saidi/Getty Images)
Majid Saidi | Getty Images News | Getty Images
Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian said it was up to the United States to decide whether to end the seven-month war, following continued missile attacks in the Middle East and renewed pressure from China to help broker a peace resolution.
“It’s the United States that has to choose whether it wants to end the war or not,” Pezeshkian said in an interview aired Thursday on Fox News, in response to a question about whether the war could end by the end of the year.
The remarks came as Saudi officials said Friday morning that the Houthis launched dozens of missiles and drones at Saudi targets and intercepted six ballistic missiles.
Emergency warnings have been issued in Mecca, Jeddah and Yanbu. Saudi Arabia, Turkey and Pakistan planned an emergency Chiefs of Staff meeting to discuss ways to support Saudi Arabia under the Mecca Joint Defense Agreement.
President Pezeshikian has sought to distance himself from any escalation with Iran, telling Fox News that “the Houthis are responsible for their actions” and that Iran is “not at war with Saudi Arabia.” He said the Houthis “have their own problems.”
Saudi Arabia’s Grand Mufti struck a very different tone, calling on the military to be ready to “lay down their lives” to fight the Houthis until they are removed from power.
The oil market is under stress due to the expansion of the front. Brent crude oil futures, the international benchmark for delivery in November, fell 1% to $93.66 per barrel. U.S. West Texas Intermediate futures for November fell 0.68% to $105.86 per barrel.
The number of ship passages through the Strait of Hormuz, which normally transports about a fifth of the world’s oil supplies, has fallen to nine, well below peacetime levels, Reuters reported on Friday, citing preliminary ship tracking data.
On the diplomatic front, the war is entwined with a US-China summit in Washington this week. Chinese President Xi Jinping is in the United States on a three-day state visit, meeting with President Donald Trump on issues including trade, artificial intelligence, Taiwan and Iran.
“The situation in the Middle East was a major issue at the recent summit, and the agreement reached there is crucial to lowering the temperature of the conflict,” Zhai Jun, China’s special envoy for the Middle East, said at an event in Singapore.
With indirect talks between the United States and Iran resuming this week on the sidelines of the United Nations General Assembly in New York, President Trump is seeking China’s help in pressuring Iran toward reconciliation. Iranian officials have indicated they could reopen the strait within seven days if the United States begins to ease its naval blockade of Iranian ports.
