Riyadh, 15 September, 2026 (Ghufran): Yemen’s Iran-aligned Houthis launched a new wave of attacks on Saudi Arabia and strengthened their positions along Yemen’s western Red Sea coast as urgent discussions were held in Riyadh over how to respond to their rapid advance. Meanwhile, Gulf Arab states postponed planned talks with Iran, raising concerns that the conflict in the Middle East could spread further and threaten global oil supplies. The Houthis said on Monday that they had 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 in Khamis Mushait and three other southern cities, while the Saudi-led coalition in Yemen said 13 civilians were wounded in the Houthi attacks. The Houthi advances in recent days, including their seizure of Perim Island at the entrance to the Red Sea, have increased pressure on Saudi oil exports after an aerial attack on Thursday knocked the country’s east-west oil pipeline offline. Riyadh blamed the pipeline attack on Iranian-backed militias in Iraq. Saudi Arabia built the 1,200-kilometre pipeline from the Gulf to the Red Sea in the 1980s as an alternative route to the Strait of Hormuz, which was considered vulnerable during the Iran-Iraq war. Traders said a prolonged shutdown of the Saudi pipeline could cut off as much as 4% of global oil supplies while the Strait of Hormuz remains largely blockaded. Riyadh has not said when pipeline operations could resume. In response to the Houthi offensive, Saudi and Yemeni air forces have intensified airstrikes on Houthi positions, including areas around the historic Red Sea port of Mocha. However, officials from Yemen’s internationally recognised government said the Houthis continued to maintain effective control over almost the entire western coast along the Red Sea. One Yemeni official said the Houthis were under heavy pressure but were responding by increasing their missile and drone campaign against Saudi Arabia.