Saudi Arabia said Houthi missile and drone attacks struck energy infrastructure and civilian sites in its southern border region near Yemen on Sept. 8, temporarily disrupting operations, sparking fires, and injuring 73 civilians.
The Iran-aligned Houthi terrorist organization claimed responsibility and vowed further attacks. The attacks targeted facilities in Abha, Khamis Mushait, Jazan, and Najran, according to Maj. Gen. Turki al-Maliki, a spokesperson for the Saudi-led coalition fighting in Yemen.
The Red Sea port city of Jazan is home to one of Saudi Arabia’s largest oil refineries, Aramco, which processes 400,000 barrels of crude oil per day.
Al-Maliki described the strikes as a dangerous escalation that targeted the kingdom’s national assets, citizens, and residents.
The attacks sparked fires and temporarily disrupted some energy facilities, the Saudi Energy Ministry said. Authorities were taking steps to maintain operations under contingency plans, it added.
Houthi military spokesperson Brig. Gen. Yahya Saree said the group carried out what he described as a large-scale, specialized military operation using dozens of ballistic missiles and drones. Saree said the attacks were retaliation for 121 Saudi airstrikes over the previous three days against Yemen’s Marib, Al-Bayda, Hodeidah, Taiz, and Al-Jawf provinces.
He said that the Houthis will not hesitate in launching further strikes and that military operations deep inside Saudi Arabia continue.
Conflict Flare-Ups
The latest exchange follows months of escalating cross-border attacks between Saudi Arabia and the Iran-aligned Houthis. The group, which controls the most populous areas of northern Yemen, has launched attacks toward Saudi Arabia since declaring a naval blockade against the kingdom in July 2026.
The Houthis said the blockade was intended to respond to what they described as a Saudi siege of Yemen, while Riyadh has denied imposing such a siege. The group has increasingly targeted Saudi energy infrastructure. On Aug. 9, the group said it attacked a Saudi Aramco refinery with drones, saying the operation was in response to alleged Saudi drone activity over Yemen’s Saada and Hajjah provinces.
Saree also said the group launched missiles and drones against military positions in Yemen’s Red Sea port city of al-Makha. Yemen’s internationally recognized government said the Aug. 9 attack on al-Makha killed seven people and wounded 30 others, most of them civilians.
Huthi military spokesman Yahya Saree (C) arrives to deliver a statement during a rally in Sanaa on March 15, 2024. Photo by Mohammed Huwais/AFP via Getty Images
The Sept. 8 attacks follow efforts by Iran to restrict commercial traffic through the Strait of Hormuz after U.S. military strikes on Iran earlier this year, contributing to higher oil prices as commercial shipping in the region came under pressure.
Brent crude futures climbed $1 to $98 a barrel after the Saudi Energy Ministry’s statement, while U.S. crude futures gained more than $2 to $93.65 a barrel.
Goldman Sachs warned on Sept. 7 that oil prices could reach $120 a barrel if attacks on commercial shipping in the Persian Gulf escalate.
U.S. President Donald Trump said in a Sept. 8 post on Truth Social that oil prices would “drop precipitously” if the United States wins its war with Iran and predicted gasoline prices would eventually fall below $2 a gallon.
Investors monitor a screen with stock information at the Saudi Stock Exchange (Tadawul) in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, on Dec. 11, 2019. Ahmed Yosri/Reuters
This week, Iranian officials said Tehran would soon announce a new exclusion zone outside the strait, designed to regulate ships approaching the waterway.
Vessels heading toward the strait without coordinating with Iran, according to Iranian Supreme National Security Council (SNSC) secretary Mohsen Rezaei, could be placed on Iran’s sanctions list and potentially face insurance complications and restrictions on future passage.
The White House said the Strait of Hormuz remained open and under U.S. control despite Iran’s plans for an exclusion zone. It added that the U.S. Navy had cleared mines from the waterway and that tanker traffic to non-Iranian ports would increase.
Iranian state media IRNA reported on Sept. 8 that acting Defense Minister Brig. Gen. Seyyed Majid Ibn al-Reza said Tehran could target U.S. warships enforcing what he described as economic blockades.
Reuters contributed to this report.
English (US) · 
Turkish (TR) · 