Houthis attack Saudi Arabia as Gulf-Iran talks are postponed

Yemen’s Iran-aligned Houthis launched a new attack on Saudi Arabia on Monday and Gulf Arab states postponed planned talks with Iran, raising concerns the Middle East conflict could spread further and threaten global oil supplies. Underscoring the volatility of shipping through the region, Iran’s Revolutionary Guard Corps said a Panamanian-flagged oil tanker exploded and caught fire after colliding with mines upon passing through what it called a prohibited zone south of the Strait of Hormuz, Iran’s Fars news agency reported on Monday without saying when the incident occurred. But the U.S. military’s Central Command immediately said the report was false and the tanker was “struck by an Iranian missile last month and rendered inoperable.” Reuters could not immediately contact the ship’s owners in Dubai to verify either account. The world’s most important oil shipping lane has been mostly shut down since the war began on February 28 as Iran has threatened vessels that transit the waterway without its authority. The tanker, which the IRGC identified as El Gaia, had been on a list of 77 ships that Iran said had violated its operating protocols in Hormuz, warning that they could face fines, detention or confiscation on future transits. “The IRGC Navy firmly declares that the Strait of Hormuz is closed and still under our smart control,” the Revolutionary Guards said in the statement. The International Maritime Organization has reported 79 incidents in the Strait of Hormuz since the war began that have killed 22 seafarers. Further pressuring global oil supplies, the Houthis have advanced rapidly in Yemen in recent days, capturing territory including Perim Island at the mouth of the Red Sea on Friday. A separate attack the same day, which Riyadh blamed on Iran-backed fighters in Iraq, knocked out Saudi Arabia’s east-west pipeline, a key route that allows Gulf oil exports to bypass the blockaded Strait of Hormuz. In Monday’s attack, the Houthis said they fired dozens of missiles and drones at a military airbase in Khamis Mushait in southern Saudi Arabia, targeting aircraft hangars, radar systems, runways and ammunition depots in retaliation for Saudi airstrikes in Yemen. Saudi authorities issued emergency alerts there and in three other southern cities that previously came under Houthi fire. The renewed Yemen conflict poses another challenge for U.S. President Donald Trump, who faces pressure from Gulf allies to help contain the Houthis but has sought to avoid opening a major new front in the regional war. Saudi Arabia has led a coalition battling the Houthis since 2015, but the conflict had largely quietened under a ceasefire in recent years. Fighting reignited this month, with the Houthis pushing back forces aligned with the internationally recognised government. The International Organization for Migration estimates 82,000 Yemenis have fled fighting since the start of the month as the Houthis swept into cities, including the historic Red Sea port of Mocha in Yemen last week. Aisha Muhammad, an elderly woman burning twigs to heat a kettle in government-held territory near Taiz in southwestern Yemen, told Reuters she had left behind two daughters and three sons who had been unable to escape. “They can’t even go out to the market to get food and drinking water. They are being blocked and shot at, so they are trapped inside their homes,” she said. “They cannot reach us, and we cannot return to them. This is a trial from God.” HOPES FOR DIPLOMACY FADE Oman had been due to host a meeting on Monday with Iran and Gulf states to discuss negotiations aimed at reopening the Strait of Hormuz, which before the war carried 20% of the world’s oil exports. But Oman’s Foreign Minister Sayyid Badr Albusaidi announced overnight that the meeting had been postponed. Iran said the postponement was at the request of Saudi Arabia. U.S. Energy Secretary Chris Wright said on Monday the average number of ships crossing the strait covertly with U.S. support was increasing. But independent monitors have suggested oil flows could have dropped off this month since fighting intensified again after a quiet August. Saudi state media reported that Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman met U.S. regional commander Admiral Brad Cooper in Jeddah on Monday. Three sources have told Reuters that Washington has so far resisted Saudi requests for direct military intervention beyond intelligence support. Trump said over the weekend he had spoken with the crown prince and that the Houthis had also contacted Washington urging it to stay out of the conflict. The United States bombed Houthi targets for two months in 2025 before Trump halted the campaign after reaching a ceasefire with the group. Trump, who attended a golf tournament at one of his resorts in Ireland, said over the weekend he expected the Iran war to end shortly after November’s U.S. midterm elections, after which oil prices would “drop like a rock”. OIL PRICES JUMP Crude oil prices rose more than 4% on Monday before settling about 1% higher, as worries about energy supplies mounted following the latest strikes on Saudi Arabian energy infrastructure. The politically sensitive average retail price of diesel in the United States hit a new all-time high above $6.23 a gallon on Monday. Traders said a prolonged shutdown of the Saudi pipeline could cut off as much as 4% of global oil supply. Satellite imagery has shown fire damage along parts of the route, and Riyadh has not said when operations might resume.