Sanaa, Sep 14: Yemen Houthi group said Monday that it had launched dozens of ballistic missiles and drones at a major military air base in southwestern Saudi Arabia, marking a significant escalation in the widening cross-border confrontation.

In a statement carried by Houthi-run al-Masirah TV, military spokesperson Yahya Saree said the group fired dozens of ballistic missiles and drones at King Khalid Air Base in Khamis Mushait, a southwestern Saudi city near the Yemeni border.

Saree said the operation targeted fighter-jet hangars, radar systems, runways, ammunition depots and other military facilities at the base, claiming that the strikes were “precise and direct” and caused significant damage, Xinhua News Agency reported.

There was no immediate comment from Saudi authorities on Monday’s Houthi claims or information on possible casualties and damage.

Saree said the operation was carried out in retaliation for what the group described as an intensifying Saudi air campaign across Yemen, claiming that Saudi F-15 and Typhoon fighter jets had conducted more than 300 airstrikes on several Yemeni provinces in recent days.

He warned that the Houthis would continue launching attacks deep inside Saudi territory as long as airstrikes on Yemen continue, saying any further escalation would be met with broader military operations.

The claim came amid a sweeping Houthi offensive launched on Sept. 3 that has rapidly redrawn front lines along Yemen’s Red Sea coast, with the group capturing several government-held areas in the Red Sea Hodeidah province and neighboring southwestern Taiz province.

The Houthis captured the strategic port city of Mocha on Thursday before pushing south into the Bab al-Mandab Strait area and seizing Mayun Island at the heart of the strait, tightening their grip on the vital shipping chokepoint connecting the Red Sea with the Gulf of Aden.

Following the advance on Friday, the Houthis said international navigation through the strait remained “free, safe and smooth,” while stressing that Saudi vessels remained excluded under a maritime ban the group imposed on July 20.

Yemen’s conflict erupted in late 2014 when the Houthis seized Sanaa and much of northern Yemen, prompting a Saudi-led coalition to intervene in March 2015 in support of the internationally recognised government.

Navi Mumbai, Sep 14: Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis on Monday praised Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s commitment to Indian languages, stating that hearing the Prime Minister speak Hindi on global platforms fills the nation with pride.

He was speaking at the Hindi Diwas celebration and the 6th All India Official Language Conference organised in Navi Mumbai, an event attended by Union Home Minister Amit Shah.

Addressing the gathering, CM Fadnavis apologised for his late arrival before highlighting the significance of hosting the national convention in Maharashtra. He noted that while such conferences were once mere formalities, Home Minister Amit Shah spearheaded the effort to rotate them across different states.

Reflecting on language policy history, Fadnavis pointed out that Hindi was widely used for official work during the British era before both Hindi and English were designated as official languages in 1963. He stated that since PM Modi assumed office, mother tongues and official regional languages have received unprecedented respect across the country.

“You must learn your mother tongue, and the New Education Policy (NEP) ensures this by promoting education in local languages alongside additional Indian languages,” CM Fadnavis said.

Recalling history, he noted that former Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee, then an opposition leader, was among the first to address the United Nations in Hindi. He added that writer Munshi Premchand played a pivotal role in making conversational Hindi acceptable for official work.

Addressing the conference, Home Minister Amit Shah emphasised the importance of regional languages, asserting that Marathi deserves deep respect. He highlighted that Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s administration granted classical language status to Marathi.

HM Shah praised Maharashtra’s diversity, describing it as the most multilingual state in India.

Quoting freedom fighter and social reformer Vinoba Bhave, he noted, “If I had not used Hindi, I could not have reached every village in Kashmir, Assam, and Kerala with the revolutionary message of Bhoodan and Gramdan. It was the official language that enabled me to communicate with people across the nation.”

Reiterating the central government’s focus on language preservation through the New Education Policy, the Home Minister emphasised that foundational learning in one’s mother tongue is essential for a child’s holistic growth.

Describing Maharashtra as the land of Veer Savarkar, he emphasised that Savarkar was not only a freedom fighter and social reformer but also one of the most learned linguists of his time. He built upon Lokmanya Tilak’s call for the purification of the Marathi language and coined numerous words that were previously absent in Indian languages—words that found natural acceptance in Marathi and other national languages.

HM Shah added that the Ministry of Home Affairs honoured Savarkar’s linguistic legacy in Hindi through the ‘Shabd Sindhu’ initiative.

Tehran, Sep 14: Iran’s Foreign Ministry spokesman Esmaeil Baghaei said on Monday that a meeting between the foreign ministers of Iran and Gulf states scheduled to be held on the same day in Oman was postponed at Saudi Arabia’s request.

He made the remarks at the weekly press conference in the Iranian capital Tehran after Omani Foreign Minister Sayyid Badr bin Hamad Al Busaidi announced the meeting’s deferral the previous day in a post on social media platform X.

Baghaei rejected “incorrect” reports that the meeting was postponed due to the ongoing developments between Saudi Arabia and Yemen’s Houthis, describing such speculation as “giving a wrong address.”

The meeting was originally scheduled to be held in the Omani City of Salalah on Monday.

“In the interests of consensus, the regional meeting set for tomorrow in Salalah has been postponed,” Omani FM Al Busaidi said on X.

“We remain committed to fostering dialogue that supports stability and lasting cooperation in our region,” he added.

Confirming the meeting’s deferral in an interview with Iran’s official news agency IRNA, Mohammad Ali Bak, director general of the Persian Gulf at the Iranian Foreign Ministry, said it was postponed to another date at some regional countries’ requests and based on a joint decision by Iran and Oman.

The official stressed that Iran is in close consultations with Oman to ensure the necessary arrangements and coordination regarding the appropriate time for holding the meeting, Xinhua News Agency reported.

Baghaei on Friday announced that Gulf littoral states’ foreign ministers were scheduled to meet in Oman on Monday to exchange views on regional issues, including the Iran-Oman talks on designating safe routes in the Strait of Hormuz.

Speaking to the media on Saturday, Baghaei said the gathering would “hopefully” be attended by foreign ministers from Gulf states as well as Iran and Iraq.