The Houthi rebels' threat to blockade Saudi Arabia has the potential to widen the Iran war and further disrupt global oil supplies and international trade.

The Iran-backed rebels say they have closed the Bab el-Mandeb Strait to Saudi-linked shipping in retaliation for the kingdom's blockade on Yemen and a recent attack on the international airport in Yemen's rebel-held capital, Sanaa. The Houthis said on Thursday they had attacked two Saudi oil tankers in the Red Sea, causing fires to break out on both.

The Jordanian and Kuwaiti militaries reported intercepting fresh salvos of Iranian missiles and drones on Thursday.

Jordan said it had intercepted Iranian missiles and drones, as Tehran responded to U.S. airstrikes by hitting Washington's allies in the region.

The U.S. and Saudi Arabia have forged a new agreement that could potentially provide the kingdom with uranium enrichment capability for its civilian nuclear program.

U.S. Energy Secretary Chris Wright and Saudi Minister of Energy Abdulaziz bin Salman formally signed the nuclear cooperation agreement, known as a "123 agreement," alongside what the Trump administration described as a "bilateral safeguards agreement."

Yemen's Iran-backed Houthi rebels said early Thursday they had attacked two Saudi oil tankers in the Red Sea, and the U.S. military conducted a 12th night of strikes against Iran as the two countries vie for control of vital shipping lanes.

The Houthi attack in the Red Sea threatened to open a new front in a war that has roiled the global economy, sending prices for fuel and other goods surging across the world. With the standoff in the Gulf deepening, there were no signs of progress in diplomatic efforts to end the conflict.

Iran again denied the existence of any secret nuclear complex at Kolang mountain on Wednesday, after U.S. President Donald Trump threatened to strike the site in the center of the country.

Gaza's civil defense agency and witnesses said Israeli strikes killed 12 people, including a family of six, in the Palestinian territory on Tuesday.

Dubai will offer more than $800 worth of discounts and deals to residents who bring friends and family to visit, the emirate's media office said on Wednesday, as months of war have battered its tourism sector.

The Jordanian army said it intercepted four Iranian missiles on Wednesday, adding that two others fell in an open area, as Tehran pressed its attacks across the region.

Top officials and ministers in the United Arab Emirates and Saudi Arabia have recently posted about friendship and unity on social media, signaling a rapprochement months after a public fall-out between the two largest Arab economies.

The United States plans to announce an agreement with Saudi Arabia on Wednesday that would give the country a civilian nuclear program, according to media reports, amid renewed fighting between the Gulf oil giant and Iran-backed Houthi rebels in Yemen.