(Investing) – Oil prices rose sharply on Monday after more Houthi attacks on Saudi Arabia, as well as postponed talks between Gulf countries and Iran over the Strait of Hormuz, drove worries over prolonged Middle East shipping disruptions.Brent oil futures briefly had surged by 4.3% to $109.14 a barrel by 09:48 ET (13:48 GMT). West Texas Intermediate crude futures had risen 4.0% to $104.04 a barrel.Iran-backed Houthi militants in Yemen have seized control of more strategic islands located in the southern Red Sea, the Associated Press reported on Monday.Citing Yemeni government and Houthi officials, the AP said the Houthis had deployed fighters on the islands of Greater Hanish and Lesser Hanish, which are located roughly 160 kilometers north of the Bab el-Mandeb Strait.A critical shipping corridor linking the Red Sea with the Gulf of Aden, the Bab el-Mandeb has emerged a fresh flashpoint in a widening Middle East conflict that could further disrupt key global oil flows. About 12% of worldwide trade traverses the strait, Al Jazeera reported.Last week, the Houthis took control over sections of Yemen’s Red Sea coast, bolstering their hold over the Bab el-Mandeb. The conflict has also spilled beyond Yemen, with Houthis launching drone attacks at locations in southern Saudi Arabia, a major oil producer.The strikes led to the closure over the weekend of the key Saudi east-west pipeline which runs to the Red Sea, further threatening oil supplies. Should exports not restart in the pipeline within days, up to 4% of global oil supply will be lost, Saudi oil buyers and traders cited by Reuters warned.The Houthis have also claimed to have carried out a “large-scale military operation” on Saudi Arabia’s King Khalid Air Base, Al Jazeera reported.“Riyadh has now lost the option to use western exports if the Strait of Hormuz deteriorates again. This is likely to put further upward pressure on oil prices this week,” ANZ analysts said in a note.Hormuz talks delayedMeanwhile, Oman’s foreign minister said on Sunday that a regional meeting between Iran and Gulf powers, initially scheduled for Monday, had now been postponed. News of the meeting had tempered oil’s gains last week, as markets hoped that renewed diplomacy could limit supply disruptions in the region.A spokesperson for Iran’s Foreign Ministry also said the gathering of Gulf officials in Muscat was delayed at the request of Saudi Arabia, but stressed that Tehran is playing no role “whatsoever” in the crisis in Yemen, Al Jazeera reported.Meanwhile, tanker traffic in the Strait of Hormuz remains constricted. Oil supplies through the channel have slowed to a fraction of levels prior to the start of a joint U.S.-Israeli attack on Iran in late February. Before the war, roughly a fifth of the world’s oil and liquefied natural gas flowed through the strait.“The delay pushes any prospect of de‑escalation even further out of reach,” analysts at ING said in a note to clients.(Ambar Warrick contributed reporting)