RIYADH, 10, 2026 (BSS/AFP) - Attacks by Yemen's Iran-backed Houthis are hurting Saudi Arabia's oil industry and risk dragging it back to full-scale war -- something it seems desperate to avoid. Months into the Middle East war, the world's biggest oil exporter is faced with a major flare-up with the Houthis, who set energy facilities ablaze and wounded dozens this week in their biggest missile-and-drone assault in years. Saudi jets carried out dozens of airstrikes in response, a reminder of the Yemen war when tens of thousands of strikes from the Saudi-led coalition hammered Houthi-held areas until a ceasefire in 2022. Now the world's biggest oil exporter must find a way to keep the Houthis at bay and maintain crude exports while pursuing an ambitious economic overhaul, including giant tourism projects and preparations for the 2034 World Cup. - How much pressure is Saudi under? - Saudi oil exports via the Gulf have been all but halted by Iran's blockade of the Strait of Hormuz. Much of the outflow has been redirected to the Red Sea, on the western Saudi coast, via pipeline. However, Houthi attacks on Saudi oil tankers in the Red Sea, plus strikes on a major oil refinery in Jizan and other energy facilities close to their shared border, are putting such workarounds under threat. "The economic dimension is crucial," said Andreas Krieg, a Gulf expert from King's College London. "Saudi Arabia is already contending with disruptions near the Strait of Hormuz and Houthi pressure on shipping in the Red Sea. "Attacks on Jazan and other vital economic infrastructure in the south place the Kingdom's export system under pressure from both ends." Riyadh has been increasingly using an Egyptian pipeline to transport its oil to the Mediterranean since a Houthi maritime blockade on the kingdom began in July. Oil exports from the Egyptian port of Kerir more than doubled in August to 2.3 million barrels a day, with the majority of it Saudi crude, according to maritime tracking firm Kpler. - What are Riyadh's military options? - Riyadh has frequently used air power when fighting the Houthis, relying heavily on aerial attacks after opening hostilities at the head of an international coalition in 2015. The Houthis have reported more than 100 Saudi airstrikes in recent days, although Riyadh has not confirmed this. But Saudi Arabia has spent years trying to withdraw from the Yemen war, supporting a 2022 ceasefire which finally collapsed in July. But returning to a large-scale air campaign seems unlikely, analysts say, with Riyadh preferring to use Yemen's Saudi-backed government forces as its primary weapon. "For now, Saudi Arabia has reasons to favour a more gradual response," the International Crisis Group's Ahmed Nagi wrote in an analysis. "Rather than immediately launching a sustained air campaign, it is letting Yemeni forces take the lead on the ground" while providing them with support. "In this way, Riyadh hopes to rebuild deterrence without immediately resuming all-out war. But the space for restraint could rapidly narrow." Aziz Alghashian, Saudi researcher at the Gulf International Forum, also said he expected a "measured" response from Saudi Arabia. "It is unlikely that the Saudi forces will plan for a long campaign," he told AFP. - Will it call on its allies? - Last month, Saudi Arabia signed a NATO-style mutual defence agreement with Turkey and nuclear-armed Pakistan in Mecca. On Tuesday, Pakistani Defence Minister Khawaja Asif said Pakistan would "honour" the pact "in case there is a need". But the alliance is in its early days and it seems unlikely Pakistan or Turkey would get involved, said Anna Jacobs of the Arab Gulf States Institute. "The Mecca alliance is still an emerging platform so it's not likely to play a major role in Saudi Arabia's military response to the Houthis," she said. In July, United States President Donald Trump said Washington would respond against the Houthis if they attempted to block maritime traffic in the Red Sea. Weeks of US strikes from March 2025, early in Trump's presidency, hit a range of military and industrial targets. The Houthis said hundreds of people were killed.