South Korea to contribute 'substantively' to Hormuz navigation efforts, top diplomat tells US counterpart

The two sides also reaffirmed their "solid" commitment to the bilateral alliance and agreed to continue efforts to achieve the "denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula" and promote peace and stability through dialogue and diplomacy. Meanwhile, Cho said Seoul would act as a peacemaker to actively support the Trump administration's efforts to resume dialogue with North Korea.

"The minister and secretary agreed to continue close communication and cooperation regarding North Korea policy, including efforts for North Korea-U.S. dialogue," the ministry said. Cho also on Rubio to work together to ensure that ongoing consultations on South Korea's strategic investment projects in the US produce positive results.

Under last year's bilateral trade deal, Seoul committed to investing $350 billion in the US."Secretary Rubio said that the State Department will also make its efforts to ensure that the consultations will be successfully concluded," he added. State Department Spokesman Tommy Pigott said in a statement that both sides pledged ongoing collaboration across key strategic sectors, including semiconductors.

Rubio reiterated the importance of "cooperating to secure freedom of navigation in the Strait of Hormuz and also underscored the critical need for a fair, transparent, and equitable business environment for American companies operating in the Republic of Korea. "He also stressed the importance of securing supply chains for key industries.

The two sides reaffirmed their commitment to North Korea's "complete denuclearisation" and stressed the importance of US-Japan-South Korea cooperation in regional security, Pigott said. US bases in Middle East suffer severe damage from Iranian attacks: reportUS military bases in the Middle East have sustained heavy damage from Iranian strikes, byABC News, as the Pentagon assesses thetoll of a war.

Washington launched more than six months ago. The report said the images show damaged buildings and an aircraft at three bases in Kuwait and a Saudi base hosting US assets, some of which were evacuated.

One photo appears to show an E-3 Sentry surveillance aircraft, valued at $270 million, damaged in late March at Prince Sultan Air Base in Saudi Arabia, the report noted. "These bases have been irreparably damaged.

And if we choose to rebuild them, it's going to be a decades-long undertaking," said a senior US service member, who spoke on condition of anonymity. Read:Trump says Iran seeking deal as US considers next move.

The service member accused the Pentagon of a lack of transparency, saying: "There are drone strikes and ballistic missile strikes actively landing on bases every day. "A Pentagon inspector general report released Monday indicated "hundreds of buildings and structures" were damaged.

The watchdog estimated the war's cost at $33 billion, while the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office put it at $38 billion. The Defence Department said 18 US service members have been killed and 824 wounded since the war began on February 28.

The deadliest attack came on the second day, when six soldiers were killed at Port Shuaiba in Kuwait. Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth has said force protection is a top priority, though he acknowledged that some Iranian weapons get through.

Efforts ongoing to return to Islamabad MoU: Iranian interior ministry. Ali Zeynivand, a spokesperson for Iran’s interior ministry said on Saturday that, “Efforts and international diplomatic mediations to resolve issues and return to the Islamabad agreement are ongoing.”BREAKING: Efforts ongoing to return to Islamabad MoU, says Iran's interior ministry🔴 LIVE updates:https://t.co/i.

RiRvin. NaJpic.twitter.com/JEl2ZLbw. Dm— Al Jazeera Breaking News (@AJENews)September 19, 2026Iran demands that “the other party adhere to its commitments in this agreement”, said Zeynivand in a press briefing, according to.

Al Jazeera, which cited the semi-official. Tasnim news agency. The official stressed it was an “agreement that has been approved by the Supreme National Security Council and confirmed by the supreme leader, and is considered an official decision of the system”.

“Active diplomacy continues with the president’s participation in the Shanghai and Brics meetings in India and Kyrgyzstan, and through intensive consultations,” Zeynivand added. Yemeni forces claim Houthi drone shot down in Al Jawf. Yemeni government forces say they shot down a Houthi drone in the Al-Jawf governorate, Al Jazeerareported on Saturday.

Yemeni government warplanes carried out airstrikes on Houthi positions around the Al-Qasr roundabout east of Taiz city, state-run. Aljoumhouriya TVreported on Friday. The broadcaster did not provide details on casualties or damage from the strikes.

The airstrikes came amid intensified fighting across Taiz province in southwestern Yemen, including areas west of the city near the strategic Bab el-Mandeb Strait. Read more:Yemeni airstrikes hit Houthi sites as clashes intensify in Taiz, Lahj: official.

The Taiz Military Axis said government forces repelled a Houthi attack on the Al-Kadahah front in western Taiz. It said troops forced the attackers to retreat after inflicting casualties, without providing figures. Al-Kadahah is strategically located along the road linking Taiz with Mokha, near the Bab el-Mandeb Strait.

There was no immediate comment from the Houthis on the government accounts. Earlier on Friday, the Yemeni army said30 Houthi fighters were killedand 60 wounded in clashes and airstrikes around the Al-Dharifah junction in the Al-Wazi’iyah district in western Taiz.

Fayyad Alnoman, assistant undersecretary at Yemen’s Information Ministry for television affairs, later and the Popular Resistance recaptured Jabal al-Bazilah and the Madkhulah area on the Aghbarah front following heavy fighting. The developments come amid rapidly shifting front lines in Yemen, particularly along the western coast.

The Houthis have recently advanced in parts of Al Hudaydah and Taiz provinces, and taken strategic areas, including Mokha, as well as Red Sea islands including Perim Island in the Bab el-Mandeb Strait,. Government forces, meanwhile, have reported advances in Al-Jawf province toward Al-Hazm, the provincial capital, while fighting continues on fronts in Marib, Al-Dhalea and Al-Bayda.

The latest escalation began in early July and is the most intense since years of relative calm following the April 2022 truce. Fighting has accelerated in September, particularly along the western coast and areas surrounding the Bab el-Mandeb Strait.

Yemen has been engulfed in conflict since the Houthis seized the national capital, Sanaa, and several provinces in September 2014. That prompted a Saudi-led Arab coalition to intervene in March 2015 in support of the internationally recognised government.

Saudi Arabia issues air raid alert in Riyadh, explosions heard. Explosions were heard in Riyadh, AFPjournalists reported, after an air raid alert is issued by Saudi Arabian authorities, regularly targeted in recent days by Houthis in Yemen.

This is the first time the capital has been directly affected since a conflict in neighbouring Yemen intensified in July. “The area is under a hostile aerial threat,” a message received shortly before 3am local time (5am PKT) by residents of the Saudi capital warned, urging them to stay indoors.

AFPjournalists then heard two explosions, and the alert was lifted about half an hour later by Saudi Arabia’s civil defence agency. US troop deaths during Iran war exceed Pentagon count by at least four: WSJMore ​US troops have died during ‌the US-Israeli war with Iran than the Pentagon has publicly disclosed, the.

Washington Postreported ​on Friday. Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth ​denied the report. The.

Post, citing five unidentified ⁠officials, reported that there had been ​at least 22 military fatalities, four ​more than were listed in the data available on the Pentagon's public database.

The newspaper also reported, ​citing another unidentified official, that not ​all of the undisclosed deaths were directly tied ‌to ⁠the months-long conflict but involved US personnel who were in the Middle East amid ongoing hostilities. Hegseth, in a ​post on ​X, called ⁠the report "a complete LIE."This is DISGUSTING and FAKE.

A complete LIE.Shame on the Washington Post — they’re worse than Iranian state media.https://t.co/vU9OkSOnLB— Pete Hegseth (@Pete. Hegseth)September 18, 2026The. Postdid not immediately respond ​to a request for comment. ​In ⁠its story, the newspaper said the Pentagon had declined to address its questions ⁠about ​the discrepancy in casualty ​accounting.

Yemeni official says government forces retook 2 positions between Taiz, Lahj. Yemeni government forces have retaken two positions between the western provinces of Taiz and Lahj following clashes with the Houthis, a government official said on Friday.

“The armed forces and Popular Resistance on the Al-Aghbara front, located between Al-Wazi'iyah district in Taiz province and the Al-Subaiha area in Lahj province, regained Al-Bazla mountain and the Madkhula area after fierce battles with the Houthi militia,” Fayyad al-Numan, assistant undersecretary at Yemen’s Information Ministry,.

Government forces inflicted casualties and equipment losses on the Houthis during the fighting and targeted reinforcements belonging to the group, said Al-Numan. “The armed forces also targeted other positions and military vehicles belonging to the Houthi militia in Al-Hartha village in the Al-Dharifa area of Al-Wazi'iyah district, west of Taiz,” he added.

The Al-Aghbara front is considered strategically important because of its location between Lahj and Taiz, linking it operationally to fronts across both provinces,. There was no comment from the Houthis on the fighting, which comes amid shifts in territorial control and escalating fighting on several fronts in Yemen.