More than 70 people were wounded on Tuesday when Yemen’s Iran-supported Houthi rebels targeted Saudi cities and energy installations. The assault raised concerns that the Iran war could spread further across the region, while Brent crude trading at $99 a barrel.
Reports placed several of the targets in Saudi Arabia’s southwest. Oil gained around 1% following the strikes, extending a rise that had taken prices to their highest levels in more than six weeks amid threats to Gulf energy infrastructure and attacks on shipping.
Saudi Arabia’s regional partners denounced the assault. Egypt warned of an escalation, Jordan condemned the infringement of Saudi sovereignty, and Qatar’s foreign ministry said the attacks disregarded civilian safety and regional security. Kuwait also condemned the strikes.
Major General Turki Al-Maliki said the Joint Forces Command of the Saudi-led coalition would firmly counter Houthi aggression. The coalition has fought the movement throughout Yemen’s prolonged civil war.
The latest barrage followed Iran’s warning that Gulf energy assets, including American oil and gas interests, could be targeted. That warning came after reciprocal attacks on vessels in and near the Gulf over the weekend.
Saudi Arabia, a U.S. ally, had sought to avoid involvement in Washington’s war against Iran. But Houthi missiles struck the kingdom in July, breaking a tenuous ceasefire that had lasted four years. Oil facilities and ships were among the targets as the renewed fighting extended the Middle East conflict.
The Houthis hold much of northern Yemen, including the country’s most heavily populated areas. In July, they announced a naval blockade of Saudi Arabia and began targeting Saudi vessels in the Red Sea, alongside attacks directed at the kingdom.
Tuesday’s strikes represented a further escalation despite a large Saudi military deployment near the frontier with Houthi-controlled territory. They also indicated the movement’s willingness to broaden the fighting.
Pressure on maritime energy trade now extends across both the Red Sea and the Strait of Hormuz. Red Sea shipping disruptions have heightened concerns about worldwide oil and gas supplies, while Iran continues to restrict passage through Hormuz. Commodity-carrying vessel traffic there slowed again this week.
Tehran has also outlined plans for additional shipping restrictions. Speaking on state television on Sunday, Supreme National Security Council secretary Mohsen Rezaei said a proposed restricted area would stretch into the Gulf from the perimeter of the U.S. blockade of Iran. Ships entering it would face inclusion on an Iranian sanctions list.
Rezaei presented the maritime restrictions as a response to economic warfare. He said Iran’s recent missile activity had warned Washington and that Tehran had substantially changed its operational stance toward U.S. warships and bases.
Iran says it will announce the restricted zone in the coming days and release maps showing a new route through Hormuz. The precise timing of those details remains uncertain.
