Houthis attack more Saudi targets as regional talks with Iran postponed
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talks → attack → Iran
Rebels say attacks are retaliation for recent Saudi airstrikes on Yemen
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.
The Houthis on Monday 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.
The action followed an attack on Saudi Arabia on Friday, which Riyadh blamed on Iran-backed fighters in Iraq.
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Riyadh → say → Iraq
That knocked out the country's east-west pipeline, which allows Gulf oil exports to bypass the blockaded Strait of Hormuz.
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exports → knock → Hormuz
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.
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Houthis → pressure → Friday
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.
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who → renew → front
Saudi Arabia has led a coalition battling the Houthis since 2015, but the conflict had largely quietened under a ceasefire in recent years.
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conflict → lead → years
Fighting reignited this month, with the Houthis pushing back forces aligned with the internationally recognized government.
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Houthis → reignite → government
Three sources have told Reuters that Washington has so far resisted Saudi requests for direct military intervention beyond intelligence support.
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Washington → tell → support
Trump said over the weekend he had spoken with the Saudi crown prince and that the Houthis had also contacted Washington urging it to stay out of the conflict.
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Houthis → say → conflict
Saudi state media reported that Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman met U.S. regional commander Adm. Brad Cooper in Jeddah on Monday.
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Salman → report → Monday
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.
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Houthis → estimate → Yemen
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 per cent of the world's oil exports.
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which → host → exports
But Oman announced overnight that the meeting had been postponed.
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meeting → announce → ?
Iran said the postponement was at the request of Saudi Arabia.
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postponement → say → Arabia
Trump repeated his frequent claim that Iran was eager to make a deal quickly, but Mohsen Rezaei, secretary of Iran's Supreme National Security Council, called the president's message a distraction, saying on X, "No talks until Iran's conditions are met."
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conditions → repeat → X
Crude oil prices rose more than four per cent on Monday before settling about one per cent higher.
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prices → rise → Monday
Traders said a prolonged shutdown of the Saudi pipeline could cut off as much as four per cent of global oil supply.
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shutdown → say → supply
Riyadh has not said when operations might resume.
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operations → say → ?
Houthis seize strategic island, Saudis close pipeline as fighting escalates
Iraq scrambles to address fallout from alleged militia attack on Saudi oil pipeline
Underscoring the volatility of shipping through the region, conflicting reports circulated about how and when an oil tanker was damaged.
Without giving a date, Iran's Revolutionary Guard Corps said the Panamanian-flagged oil tanker El Gaia was damaged by mines as it passed through a prohibited zone south of the Strait of Hormuz, Iran's Fars news agency reported on Monday.
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agency → seize → Monday
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."
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tanker → say → missile
The United Nations' International Maritime Organization reported El Gaia was damaged on Saturday, but did not say how, and that two seafarers were missing.
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seafarers → report → Saturday
The British navy-affiliated agency U.K. Maritime Trade Operations reported that a vessel it did not identify was struck by a projectile within the strait on Saturday, adding that a fire broke out and the crew was being evacuated.
Reuters could not immediately contact the ship's owners in Dubai to verify any of the accounts.
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Reuters → affiliate → accounts
The world's most important oil shipping lane has been mostly shut down since the war began on Feb. 28 as Iran has threatened vessels that transit the waterway without its authority.
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.
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they → shut → 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.
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Guards → declare → statement
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