Iran-backed Houthis attack four Saudi cities in expansion of Middle East war, 73 hurt - Reuters

War expands as Iran-backed Houthis attack Saudi cities and US strikes Iranian tankers | Reuters

Skip to main content

Exclusive news, data and analytics for financial market professionals Learn more aboutRefinitiv

* World
Browse World

+ Africa
+ Americas
+ Asia Pacific
+ China
+ Europe
+ India
+ Iran War
+ Israel and Hamas at War
+ Japan
+ Middle East
+ Reuters/Ipsos Polls
+ Ukraine and Russia at War
+ United Kingdom
+ United States
+ U.S. Midterm Elections
+ Reuters NEXT
* Business
Browse Business

+ Aerospace & Defense
+ Autos & Transportation
+ Davos
+ Energy
+ Environment
+ Finance
+ Healthcare & Pharmaceuticals
+ Media & Telecom
+ Retail & Consumer
+ Future of Health
+ Future of Money
+ Take Five
+ World at Work
* Markets
Browse Markets

+ On the Money
+ Asian Markets
+ Carbon Markets
+ Commodities
+ Currencies
+ Deals
+ Emerging Markets
+ ETFs
+ European Markets
+ Funds
+ Econ World
+ Global Market Data
+ Rates & Bonds
+ Stocks
+ U.S. Markets
+ Wealth
* Sustainability
Browse Sustainability

+ Boards, Policy & Regulation
+ Climate & Energy
+ Land Use & Biodiversity
+ Society & Equity
+ Sustainable Finance & Reporting
+ The Switch
+ Reuters Impact
+ COP31
* Legal
+ Government
+ Legal Industry
+ Litigation
+ Transactional
+ US Supreme Court
Commentary

+ Breakingviews
+ ROI: Reuters Open Interest
Technology

+ Artificial Intelligence
+ Cybersecurity
+ Space
+ Disrupted
Investigations
Sports

+ World Cup
+ Athletics
+ Baseball
+ Basketball
+ Cricket
+ Cycling
+ Formula 1
+ Golf
+ NFL
+ NHL
+ Soccer
+ Tennis
Science
Lifestyle

+ Culture Current
City Memo
Graphics

+ Chart of the Week
Pictures
Wider Image
Podcasts

+ Reuters World News
+ Reuters Morning Bid
+ Reuters Econ World
+ On Assignment
+ Viewsroom
+ The Big View
Live
Fact Check
Video
Media Center

+ Announcements
+ Awards
+ Inside the Newsroom
+ People News
Sponsored Content

+ Reuters Plus
+ Press Releases

My NewsSign InSubscribe

War expands as Iran-backed Houthis attack Saudi cities and US strikes Iranian tankers

By

Elwely Elwelly,

Yomna Ehaband

Muhammad Al Gebaly

September 8, 2026

4:21 PM EDT

Updated 52 mins ago

*
*
*

*
*
*
*
*

!Trucks burn on Yemen-Saudi border after claimed Houthi attack

* Summary

* Houthis say drones and missiles hit airbase and multiple Saudi oil targets
* NASA images show black smoke over Jazan refinery, white smoke from Abha oil distribution centre
* Brent crude closes at highest level since July 23
* US says it attacks Iranian tankers after a two-day pause

DUBAI/CAIRO, Sept 8 (Reuters) - Yemen's Tehran-backed Houthis attacked four cities in the south ​of U.S. ally Saudi Arabia on Tuesday, wounding more than 70 people and setting oil installations ablaze in what appeared to be a major expansion of the six-month-old Middle East ‌war.

Meanwhile, U.S. forces struck multiple Iranian tankers tied to the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps in response to Iranian attempts to hit a U.S. Navy warship, a U.S. official said, marking a resumption of U.S. attacks on Iran after a two-day pause.

The Reuters Iran Briefing newsletter keeps you informed with the latest developments and analysis of the Iran war. Sign up here.

Iranian media reported multiple attacks, with the Tasnim news agency saying a U.S. missile struck an Iranian tanker 4 miles (6 km) from the oil hub of Kharg Island, and the state broadcaster reporting that the U.S. attacked a second oil tanker near the waters of ​Jask on the Gulf of Oman.

The IRGC threatened to target oil tankers in Kuwaiti and Bahraini ports in response, warning crews there to evacuate, according to a statement carried by state media.

In Saudi ​Arabia, the Houthis, who control most of Yemen's populated areas including the capital, said they had launched a broad operation deep into Saudi territory. They used ⁠drones and missiles to strike a Saudi airbase in the southern city of Khamis Mushait as well as Saudi state oil company assets in the cities of Abha, Najran and Jazan.

NASA satellite images showed a thick ​cloud of black smoke over the Jazan refinery and a column of white smoke rising from an oil distribution centre in Abha.

Saudi authorities described blazes at the sites and said women and children were among the 73 ​people hurt. The reports of such large numbers of wounded suggested the attacks were among the biggest carried out against Saudi Arabia since the United States and Israel launched their war against Iran in February.

No confirmed images from the ground of the attacked Saudi cities were available, and witnesses could not be reached in a country where media is tightly controlled.

FIGHTING DRIVES UP OIL PRICES

After a month of calm in August, fighting in the Gulf has resumed, with Iran and the U.S. exchanging ​fire, sending global oil prices back towards the $100 a barrel level passed at the war's peak. Prices for benchmark Brent crude and U.S. West Texas Intermediate closed at their highest levels since July 23 and June 4, respectively.

Houthi attacks ​on southwestern Saudi Arabia have the potential to worsen the war's global economic impact by disrupting Middle East energy supplies beyond the blockaded Strait of Hormuz.

Item 1 of 7 Smoke rises from a burning truck during what the Houthis say was an attack targeting trucks coming from Saudi territory, at Al-Wadiah border crossing near Al-Wadiah, on the Saudi-Yemen border, in this still image obtained from a handout video released September 7, 2026. Houthi Media Centre/Handout via REUTERS

**\[1/7]**Smoke rises from a burning truck during what the Houthis say was an attack targeting trucks coming from Saudi territory, at Al-Wadiah border crossing near Al-Wadiah, on the Saudi-Yemen border, in this still image obtained from a handout video released September 7, 2026. Houthi Media... Purchase LicensingRights , opens new tab

Read more

Saudi Arabia has led an Arab coalition battling against the Houthis in Yemen for more ‌than a decade. ⁠That war had calmed in recent years, but a ceasefire there has broken down, with the Houthis threatening shipping at the mouth of the Red Sea.

In recent days, Saudi-backed Yemeni forces of a government based in the south have launched a multipronged offensive on Houthi-held areas, after the Houthis tried to advance on government-held positions. The government, which was driven by the Houthis from the capital 12 years ago, says it now aims to recapture all Houthi-held territory.

'MARITIME EXCLUSION ZONE'

Houthi spokesperson Yahya Saree accused Riyadh of having escalated the war by launching airstrikes on Yemen, and said the Houthis would respond.

The wider war in the Gulf has turned into a test ​of wills between the U.S. and Iran, with each ​side hoping that economic pressure from competing blockades ⁠will force the other to yield.

The U.S. Treasury announced new aviation-related sanctions on Tuesday it said were aimed at grounding Iran's airlines.

Washington is trying to increase the flow of oil to world markets by guiding ships through the Strait of Hormuz, while cutting off Iran's exports with a blockade.

Tehran has announced new measures to seal ​off the strait, saying it will soon unveil details of a "maritime exclusion zone" that will extend from the perimeter of the U.S. blockade, through the strait ​and into the Gulf itself.

Washington ⁠fired at Iranian tankers over the weekend in retaliation for Iranian fire at U.S. warships, in which Iran said it had used new, more capable ballistic missiles.

Iran's Revolutionary Guards said they had captured a U.S. submersible near the strait. A U.S. official told Reuters on Tuesday that an underwater military