RIYADH, Sept 15 – Yemen’s Iran-aligned Houthi movement launched another series of attacks against Saudi Arabia as fighting intensified along Yemen’s western coast, adding to pressure on the kingdom while diplomatic efforts to ease the wider Middle East conflict showed signs of stalling.
The Houthis said Monday that they had launched dozens of missiles and drones toward a military airbase in Khamis Mushait in southern Saudi Arabia. The group said its targets included aircraft hangars, radar installations, runways and ammunition storage facilities, describing the strikes as retaliation for Saudi airstrikes against Houthi positions in Yemen.
Saudi authorities issued emergency alerts in Khamis Mushait and three other southern cities following the attacks. The Saudi-led coalition operating in Yemen said 13 civilians were wounded.
The latest escalation comes as Houthi forces consolidate their position along much of Yemen’s Red Sea coastline. Officials from Yemen’s internationally recognized government said Saudi and Yemeni aircraft have increased strikes against Houthi positions, including areas around the historic port of Mocha.
Despite the aerial campaign, the officials said the Houthis continue to hold effective control over almost the entire western coastline facing the Red Sea.
The developments are adding another layer of risk to an already unstable regional conflict. Houthi forces have also expanded their presence around strategic maritime areas, including Perim Island at the southern entrance to the Red Sea, raising concerns about threats to shipping routes connecting the Red Sea with the Gulf of Aden.
The renewed fighting is also unfolding as Saudi Arabia faces growing concerns over its ability to move crude oil to international markets.
An aerial attack last Thursday knocked Saudi Arabia’s east-west oil pipeline offline. Riyadh blamed the strike on Iranian-backed militias operating in Iraq. The 1,200-kilometer pipeline was built in the 1980s to provide Saudi Arabia with an alternative route for exporting oil without relying entirely on the Strait of Hormuz.
That alternative has become particularly important because shipping through Hormuz has been severely disrupted during the current conflict.
The pipeline runs across Saudi Arabia from the Gulf toward the Red Sea, allowing oil to reach export terminals away from the strategic waterway. Traders have warned that if the pipeline remains out of service for an extended period while the Strait of Hormuz remains largely blocked, as much as 4% of global oil supply could be affected.
Saudi authorities have not provided a firm timetable for restoring the pipeline.
Oil markets reacted sharply to the latest developments. Crude prices gained more than 4% at one point Monday before giving up much of the advance and ending about 1% higher.
Saudi Arabia faces pressure as Houthi attacks intensify
The renewed Houthi offensive marks a significant deterioration in Yemen’s conflict after several years of comparatively reduced fighting.
Saudi Arabia has led a military coalition against the Houthis since 2015, but the intensity of the conflict declined substantially after a ceasefire helped reduce major clashes. That period of relative calm has now been disrupted as Houthi forces have pushed against units aligned with Yemen’s internationally recognized government.
A Yemeni government official described the situation as a cycle of escalating pressure, saying the Houthis were coming under heavy bombardment while simultaneously increasing missile and drone attacks against Saudi Arabia.
The Houthi attacks present Riyadh with a difficult military calculation. Saudi Arabia must respond to strikes against its territory while also attempting to prevent the Houthis from strengthening their control over strategically important parts of Yemen’s western coastline.
Saudi and Yemeni aircraft have increased bombing operations against Houthi positions, particularly around Mocha, a port city whose location gives it importance for access to the Red Sea.
The Houthis’ control of territory along the coast also creates concerns beyond the Yemen conflict itself. The Red Sea is a major international shipping corridor, and any sustained threat to vessels could force commercial operators to alter routes, increasing travel times and transportation costs.
The situation has also created another challenge for U.S. President Donald Trump.
Three people familiar with the discussions said Washington has so far been reluctant to provide Saudi Arabia with direct military intervention beyond intelligence assistance. Trump said over the weekend that he had spoken with Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman and that the Houthis had also communicated with Washington, urging the United States not to become involved in the fighting.
Saudi state media reported that Mohammed bin Salman met U.S. regional commander Admiral Brad Cooper in Jeddah on Monday to discuss developments following the Houthi escalation.
The meeting came as Riyadh weighs its response to the growing attacks while Washington faces pressure over how deeply it should become involved in another expanding conflict in the region.
Hormuz diplomacy falters as shipping risks grow
At the same time, diplomatic efforts aimed at reopening the Strait of Hormuz have encountered a setback.
Oman had been expected to host talks Monday involving Iran and Gulf Arab states over possible negotiations to restore normal shipping through the waterway. Oman later announced that the meeting had been postponed.
Iran said the postponement came at Saudi Arabia’s request, adding another point of tension between Tehran and Riyadh at a time when both countries are dealing with the consequences of the wider conflict.
Trump again said Monday that Iran was eager to reach an agreement quickly. Mohsen Rezaei, secretary of Iran’s Supreme National Security Council, rejected that characterization. In a message posted on X, Rezaei said there would be no talks until Iran’s conditions were accepted, portraying Trump’s comments as an attempt to distract from Tehran’s position.
The Strait of Hormuz remains central to the international energy market. Before the current war, roughly one-fifth of the world’s oil exports passed through the narrow waterway. Its prolonged disruption has therefore raised concerns about supplies, prices and the broader economic consequences of the conflict.
The uncertainty has been compounded by conflicting accounts over damage to an oil tanker in the region.
Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps said the Panamanian-flagged tanker El Gaia was struck by sea mines while passing through a prohibited area south of Hormuz, according to Iran’s Fars news agency.
The U.S. military’s Central Command disputed that account almost immediately. It said the vessel had instead been struck by an Iranian missile the previous month and had been left inoperable.
The United Nations’ International Maritime Organization confirmed that El Gaia was damaged on Saturday but did not identify the cause. The organization also said two crew members were missing.
The conflicting statements could not immediately be independently reconciled.
The Revolutionary Guard has maintained that Iran retains control over the waterway. In a statement, the IRGC Navy said the Strait of Hormuz remained closed and under what it described as its “smart control.”
For Gulf governments, the postponement of talks means there is less immediate hope of restoring predictable commercial traffic through one of the world’s most important oil corridors. For Saudi Arabia, the situation is even more complicated because its alternative pipeline route to the Red Sea is already offline.
The combination of Houthi attacks, Saudi airstrikes, uncertainty around the Red Sea and the stalled Hormuz negotiations has therefore created a wider regional security problem. What began as renewed fighting in Yemen is increasingly affecting energy infrastructure, maritime traffic and diplomatic efforts across the Gulf.
With the Houthis continuing to strengthen their position along Yemen’s western coast and Saudi Arabia increasing its military response, the immediate risk is that the Yemen front becomes increasingly connected to the broader confrontation involving Iran and the Gulf states.