The Houthis attack Saudi energy facilities and wound 73 civilians, and Qatar calls for strengthening the security of the independent Gulf

The Saudi Ministry of Energy said today, Tuesday (September 8, 2026), that a number of energy installations and facilities in the southern region of the Kingdom were attacked by the Houthis in Yemen, which led to the outbreak of fires in several locations and a temporary cessation of some operations.

In turn, the coalition led by Riyadh to support the government in Yemen announced on Tuesday that a series of attacks resulted in the injury of 73 civilians in southwestern Saudi Arabia, vowing to respond to the rebels allied with Iran. The official spokesman for the coalition forces, Major General Turki Al-Maliki, said, “The senseless attacks by the Houthi terrorist militia, the latest of which was the targeting of civilian and economic objects in the cities of (Abha, Khamis Mushait, Jazan, Najran) and resulted in the injury of a number (73) civilians, including women and children, are a blatant violation of the sovereignty of the Kingdom,” pledging that “the leadership of the joint forces of the coalition will take all necessary operational measures to deter this terrorist militia.”

The Houthi "Ansar Allah" website reported earlier that the rebels bombed targets in southern Saudi Arabia. The Ansar Allah group wrote on Telegram that “Yemeni marches and missiles are destroying the Saudi enemy,” adding in a separate post that the strikes targeted Abha Airport, King Khalid Air Base, and facilities belonging to Aramco in Abha and Jizan.

Qatari Foreign Ministry spokesman Majid Al-Ansari said on Monday (September 7, 2026), at the Haley Forum in Abu Dhabi, that the Gulf states cannot rely solely on the United States and other international alliances to ensure their security, but must strengthen their independence.

He stressed, "We must realize in the Gulf that the presence of international forces in the region, and the establishment of a strategic alliance with the United States, is extremely important, but not sufficient."

He added, "Self-sufficiency in security is the only way forward. Yes, we need our partners and allies, but we cannot rely on them alone for our security."

Qatar is a major mediator in efforts to end the US-Iranian war, and has been subjected to intense Iranian attacks, especially affecting its energy infrastructure.

Six months after the outbreak of the war, the two warring parties are still facing a dead end, as Iran continues to close the strategic Strait of Hormuz, while the United States imposes a counter-blockade on Iranian ports.

Last month, Qatari Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Mohammed bin Abdul Rahman Al Thani visited Tehran as part of mediation efforts, after Iran and the Sultanate of Oman, which overlook the vital Strait of Hormuz, announced discussions on establishing a temporary navigation corridor in the strait and removing mines from it.

Data issued by Kepler indicated that the ten-day moving average of navigation traffic in the Strait of Hormuz reached 10 ships yesterday, Sunday, compared to more than 15 ships on Friday and about 13 ships on Saturday. Only two ships crossed the strait on Saturday, while six ships passed yesterday, Sunday, most of them via the Iranian route. The US Central Command said that its forces targeted three Iranian oil tankers on Saturday, including a tanker off Kharg Island, the main center for Iranian oil exports, following attacks launched by the Iranian Revolutionary Guard on American warships in the region.

In response, the Revolutionary Guard Navy announced on Saturday that it had targeted three oil tankers that were taking unauthorized routes in the strait, in addition to three American ships in different regions. Marisex, a company specializing in maritime information, said in a note that the three Iranian tankers are Downey, Stark 1, and Kilo, also known as Noxen. The company added that the attacks that occurred on Saturday represented a "major escalation in the maritime conflict."