RismadarVoice Reporters
September 15, 2026
Iran-aligned Houthi forces in Yemen have launched a fresh wave of missile and drone attacks against Saudi Arabia, while diplomatic efforts involving Iran and Gulf Arab states to reopen the Strait of Hormuz have been postponed, deepening concerns that the wider Middle East conflict could further disrupt global oil supplies.
The Houthis said on Monday that they fired dozens of missiles and drones at a military airbase in Khamis Mushait in southern Saudi Arabia, targeting aircraft hangars, radar installations, runways and ammunition depots.
The group described the attacks 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 Yemen’s western coastline on the Red Sea. Officials from Yemen’s internationally recognised government said the Houthis currently maintain effective control over almost the entire western coast.
The Houthis have also advanced towards strategically important areas, including Perim Island at the entrance to the Red Sea, increasing pressure on shipping routes already affected by the wider regional conflict.
In response, Saudi and Yemeni forces have intensified airstrikes against Houthi targets, including positions around the historic Red Sea port of Mocha.
A Yemeni government official said the Houthis were facing heavy pressure from Saudi and Yemeni air operations but were simultaneously increasing missile and drone attacks against Saudi territory.
The escalation has added another threat to Saudi Arabia’s ability to export crude oil after a drone attack last week forced the temporary shutdown of the kingdom’s East-West oil pipeline.
Saudi Arabia has blamed Iran-backed militias operating from Iraq for that attack.
The 1,200-kilometre pipeline was constructed in the 1980s to transport Saudi crude from the Gulf to the Red Sea, allowing the kingdom to bypass the Strait of Hormuz when security conditions make the waterway difficult or dangerous to use.
Market participants have warned that a prolonged shutdown of the pipeline could remove as much as 4 per cent of global oil supply from the market at a time when shipping through the Strait of Hormuz remains severely restricted.
Saudi authorities have not announced when the pipeline will resume full operations.
Oil prices rose more than 4 per cent during Monday’s trading session before giving up some of the gains and settling about 1 per cent higher, reflecting continued concerns over disruptions to crude production and transportation.
US HESITANT TO INTERVENE DIRECTLY
The renewed fighting in Yemen presents another challenge for United States President Donald Trump, as Saudi Arabia seeks greater assistance in responding to the Houthi offensive.
Sources familiar with the situation said Washington has so far resisted Saudi requests for direct military intervention, although the United States has continued to provide intelligence support.
Trump said over the weekend that he had spoken with Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman and that the Houthis had also contacted Washington, urging the United States not to intervene directly in the conflict.
Saudi state media reported that the crown prince met US regional commander Admiral Brad Cooper in Jeddah on Monday.
Saudi Arabia has led a coalition fighting the Houthis since 2015. The conflict had largely subsided following a period of relative calm and a de facto ceasefire, but fighting intensified again this month as the Houthis pushed back forces aligned with Yemen’s internationally recognised government.
The renewed hostilities have raised fears that the conflict could once again become a major regional confrontation involving Saudi Arabia, Iran-backed forces and potentially other international actors.
HORMUZ DIPLOMATIC EFFORTS DELAYED
At the same time, hopes for a diplomatic solution to the crisis surrounding the Strait of Hormuz have weakened after Oman postponed a planned meeting involving Iran and Gulf Arab states.
The talks were expected to focus on negotiations aimed at restoring safe passage through the strategic waterway, which before the conflict carried roughly one-fifth of global oil exports.
Oman announced that the meeting had been postponed, while Iranian officials said the postponement was requested by Saudi Arabia.
Trump has continued to maintain that Iran wants to reach a deal quickly, but Mohsen Rezaei, secretary of Iran’s Supreme National Security Council, rejected the suggestion, saying that there would be no talks until Iran’s conditions were met.
The disagreement reflects the wider diplomatic impasse surrounding the waterway, with Iran insisting on conditions for shipping while Gulf states and the United States have demanded unrestricted maritime access.
The Strait of Hormuz has remained largely closed to normal commercial traffic since the war began on February 28, with Iran threatening vessels that transit the waterway without its approval.
The situation has been further complicated by conflicting accounts surrounding damage to an oil tanker.
Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps said the Panamanian-flagged tanker El Gaia had struck sea mines while travelling through an area south of the Strait of Hormuz that Iran considers prohibited.
The US Central Command rejected that account, saying the tanker had instead been struck by an Iranian missile the previous month and rendered inoperable.
The International Maritime Organisation confirmed that El Gaia was damaged on Saturday but did not establish the cause. It also reported that two seafarers were missing.
The conflicting accounts could not immediately be independently reconciled.
The IRGC maintained that the Strait of Hormuz remained under its control, declaring that the waterway was closed and subject to what it described as its “smart control.”
With Houthi forces expanding attacks from Yemen, Saudi oil infrastructure under pressure and commercial shipping through Hormuz severely disrupted, the latest developments have heightened concerns that prolonged instability could further tighten global energy supplies and increase pressure on oil markets.
