Yemen’s Houthi rebels keep targeting Saudi airports and oil fields, pushing crude to a five-month-plus high. Senior Iranian figures say they would respond with ‘zero red lines’ to any new US-Israeli attack, but the seven countries they allegedly named have not been confirmed.
Taiwan’s Liberty Times, citing CNA and Reuters on Oct. 23, reported that on Oct. 22 Brent futures rose $4.35, or 4.0%, to settle at $113.17 a barrel, the highest close since May 4. West Texas Intermediate gained $2.32, or 2.4%, to $99.47.
광고 문의 · 300×250The immediate trigger was the Houthi attack on Saudi Arabia, which raised fears of further supply disruption from a major energy exporter. The Liberty Times piece gave no precise date, damage figures or official Saudi response, so the damage details below are supplemented from other outlets.
Oct. 21 strikes on an airport and an oil field
According to Taiwan’s China Times, the Houthis hit several Saudi targets on Oct. 21. King Fahd International Airport in Dammam was struck, killing one and injuring eight, and a drone attack on Aramco’s Shaybah field reportedly killed two. Whether the Houthis directly claimed these attacks is not confirmed, and Saudi’s energy ministry did not name who launched the drone.
On what can be confirmed, air defenses intercepted the drone at Shaybah, but falling debris set a contractor vehicle ablaze, reportedly killing two foreign workers and injuring two. The energy ministry said production and operations were unaffected. The field is said to produce about 1 million barrels a day.
On Oct. 21 the US State Department ordered non-emergency staff and families to leave Saudi Arabia. Spokesperson Tommy Pigott said Iran-backed Houthis were attacking civilian airports and critical infrastructure, causing casualties and transport disruption. The order covers Saudi Arabia only; talk of family departures from other Gulf posts has not been confirmed as an official order.
Iran’s ‘zero red lines’ warning
Compiling The Guardian, Reuters, Axios and Fars, the Liberty Times said Mohsen Rezaei, secretary of Iran’s Supreme National Security Council, warned that a new US-Israeli attack could bring strikes on oil facilities, undersea cables, data centers and AI facilities in up to seven Gulf-region countries. The report did not name the seven. Mehdi Mohammadi, an adviser to Iran’s parliament speaker, told The Guardian Iran’s strategy is ‘zero red lines’.
The same report says The Guardian reported Trump and Netanyahu had agreed in principle to attack, while US media said a target list had been drawn up for after the Nov. 3 midterms. It also notes Trump has called off renewed strikes seven times in four months. All of this rests on anonymous sources and Iranian statements; neither government has officially confirmed it.
A third perspective: mediation and de-escalation
Outside the region, diplomacy to prevent escalation is running in parallel. The Liberty Times said foreign ministers of three European countries, plus Turkey, Saudi Arabia, Pakistan and Egypt, are due to meet in Istanbul on Oct. 23 on the linked Iran, Yemen and Palestine crises. Reza Nasri, an international lawyer close to Iran’s foreign ministry, argued a third war would fully close the Strait of Hormuz and tip the global economy into recession. That is Iran’s side of the argument, not an independently verified forecast.
The other side sees it differently. Saudi Arabia and its allies say the Houthis are backed by Iran, while the Houthis have long described themselves as an independent Yemeni force. The Saudi-led coalition says a truce of nearly four years collapsed in June. Washington blames Iran, and Iran warns it could widen its response to US bases if provoked.
For our readers and the overseas Chinese community, the near-term effect shows up in oil prices and logistics costs. Energy-importing South Korea, China and Taiwan are all sensitive to supply worries. China’s official position was not confirmed in these reports, and the situation changes by the day, so follow-up reporting is needed.
