Riyadh/Tehran, September 14, 2026: Gulf Arab states called off a meeting with Iran planned for Monday as fighting in Yemen intensified, with Houthi forces launching a fresh attack on Saudi Arabia and raising fresh concerns over global oil supplies.
The Houthis said they fired dozens of missiles and drones at a Saudi military airbase in Khamis Mushait, near the Yemen border, targeting aircraft hangars, radar systems, runways and ammunition depots. They described the attack as retaliation for hundreds of Saudi airstrikes on Yemen in recent days.
Saudi authorities issued brief emergency alerts in Khamis Mushait and three other southern cities that have previously come under Houthi fire.
The latest escalation follows a rapid Houthi advance in Yemen that included the capture of the Red Sea port of Mocha and Perim Island at the entrance to the Bab el-Mandeb strait.
A separate attack on Friday, which Riyadh blamed on fighters in Iraq, damaged Saudi Arabia’s east-west oil pipeline, a key route for transporting Middle Eastern crude while the Strait of Hormuz remains largely blocked.
Oil prices rose more than 3% on Monday as markets reopened after the weekend. Traders warned that the closure of the Saudi pipeline could disrupt up to 4% of global oil supplies if it is not restored within days.
Satellite imagery showed sections of the pipeline damaged by fires, although Saudi authorities have not provided a firm timeline for repairs.
Oman had been scheduled to host talks between Iran and Gulf states aimed at reopening the Strait of Hormuz, one of the world’s most important oil shipping routes. However, Oman’s Foreign Minister Sayyid Badr Albusaidi said the meeting had been postponed in the interests of consensus.
Iran said the postponement came at Saudi Arabia’s request.
Meanwhile, Tehran issued a list of 77 ships it said had violated its operating protocols in the Strait of Hormuz. Iran warned that vessels on the list could face restrictions on future passage, including fines, detention or confiscation.
The renewed fighting in Yemen presents a dilemma for the United States, which faces pressure to support its Saudi allies while seeking to prevent the wider Middle East conflict from expanding into another costly theatre.
Saudi Arabia has led an Arab coalition against the Houthis since the group seized Yemen’s capital in 2014. Fighting had largely subsided under a ceasefire in recent years, but the conflict has now reignited as Houthi forces push back forces loyal to the Saudi-backed government.
Thousands of Yemenis have fled inland to escape the fighting, while humanitarian conditions have deteriorated in affected areas.
The United States is also under pressure to help ease the global energy crisis and rising fuel prices, which could carry political consequences for President Donald Trump ahead of the November midterm elections.
Three sources told Reuters that Washington has so far rejected requests from Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman to intervene in Yemen. Trump confirmed that he had spoken with the Saudi leader and said the Houthis had also contacted Washington, asking it to stay out of the dispute.
The United States bombed Houthi targets for two months in 2025 before Trump ended the campaign following a ceasefire agreement with the group.
Trump said over the weekend that he expected the Iran war to end shortly after the November elections, predicting that oil prices would “drop like a rock.”
