Saudi Arabia promises to respond “firmly” to Huthis attacks

In recent days, the Huthis have inflicted major setbacks on Yemeni government forces and their Saudi ally, reinforcing control over the Bab el-Mandeb Strait, a strategic passage linking Europe to Asia, with the end of a lightning offensive.

The rebels also attacked Saudi Arabia's oil infrastructure, the world's largest exporter of crude oil, raising the price of oil above the symbolic 100-dollar barrier (EUR 86,67).

On Monday, an offensive by the Huthis in western Yemen killed eight soldiers from government forces, according to two military sources.

The Huthis also claimed a “large” attack with “tens of ballistic missiles and drones” against the King Khalid Air Base in Khamis Mushait in southern Saudi Arabia.

The military coalition led by Riyadh confirmed on Tuesday missile and drone attacks on the eve of Khamis Mushait, Abha and Taif, and reported 13 civilians injured, having retaliated with about 50 bombings, and stating that “it will face these attacks responsibly and firmly”.

In this tense context, Saudi Arabia has requested the postponement of a meeting with Iran scheduled for Monday in Oman with Gulf countries, according to Iranian diplomacy.

“Calling the Yemeni question as a reason [for postponement] is a false pretext,” said Iranian diplomat Esmail Baghai at a press conference in Tehran.

“Iran does not intervene in Yemeni affairs,” he said, stating that the Huthis are “totally independent actors who make decisions according to their own interests.”.

The meeting should address the future of the Strait of Ormuz, another crucial point of passage for the world trade in hydrocarbons, which Iran has been blocking for months.

Saudi Arabia is under pressure from the Huthis attacks and the risks to Saudi oil tankers in the two main straits of the region.

The East-West pipeline, a crucial crude export route to bypass the Ormuz blockade, is also stopped after drone attacks from Iraq, according to Riyadh.

The war with Iran reduced Saudi production to about six million barrels a day in August, against almost 10 million the previous year, according to the International Energy Agency. The prolonged closure of the pipeline threatens to aggravate the costs and delays in deliveries, requiring a “global reorganization of crude flows”, warns consultant Rystad Energy.

Since 2014, the Huthis control the north of the country, including the capital Sanaa, while the internationally recognized government maintains the south and port of Aden.

After years of calming down, Yemen was dragged into the regional conflict in July by the Israeli-American offensive against Iran in late February.

The fighting of the last weeks in western Yemen has caused hundreds of deaths and displaced about 86 thousand people, according to the International Organization for Migration (IOM).

While negotiations between Washington and Tehran remain blocked, the US President again stated on Monday that he was available for dialogue.

“Iran wants to conclude an agreement quickly and desperately. I will decide whether the United States responds or not — we are open to the idea,” Donald Trump wrote on his Truth Social network.

“There will be no negotiation until Iran’s conditions are met. That’s all”, answered on social network X the secretary of the Iranian Supreme Council of National Security, Mohsen Rezai.