The Saudi defense ministry said 14 countries have backed the kingdom’s proposal to establish a “Maritime Defense Alliance” to protect international shipping routes and global trade.

The U.S. military launched strikes in Iran July 29, with Trump saying he wanted to hit them "very hard" and "smack them a little bit."

The largely symbolic vote reflects the high tensions as the Iran war enters its sixth month.

Iran's Revolutionary Guard threatened further escalation on Thursday after a wave of retaliatory U.S. strikes on the country overnight.

An Iranian attack killed a worker in Kuwait and a drone strike at an Egyptian port hit a U.S.-owned tanker.

The U.S. and Saudi Arabia said they carried out airstrikes on Iran-backed militias in Iraq, Iran targeted sites used by the American military in Jordan and a U.S.-owned ship was hit in an Egyptian port.

In a report immediately denied by Beijing, Reuters says Iran is set to receive the first of up to 400 Chinese-made, shoulder-fired, surface-to-air missiles within weeks. If true, this could transform an already complex regional conflict into a critical test of superpower relations.