Middle East Tensions Remain High At Start Of Week. Brent Is Likely To Stay Above $100 A Barrel.

Following a Houthi attack on Riyadh's King Khalid airport on Saturday which left 13 dead and more than 300 injured, a passenger hall at the same airport was hit by an "unknown projectile" on Sunday, causing a fire.

The Iran-backed Yemeni group has claimed responsibility for both attacks, and is warning travellers and airlines to stay away from all Saudi airports and airspace.

Saudi Arabia, which leads a coalition supporting the internationally recognized Yemeni government against the Houthis, vowed on Sunday to retaliate.

"The cowardly terrorist attack by the Terrorist Houthi Militia on Saturday ... is a heinous act that contradicts all principles, values, and ethics. Therefore, the Joint Forces Command of the Coalition will respond decisively," said Major General Turki Al-Maliki, the spokesperson for the Saudi intervention in Yemen, in a statement on Sunday.

So far, the U.S. has limited its support for Riyadh to intelligence sharing and deploying military experts. However, Saturday's strike on the King Khalid facility killed an American citizen, and President Donald Trump said in the aftermath of the fatal attack that the U.S. was looking into joining Saudi strikes on Houthi-controlled territory.

Instability in Saudi Arabia often creates turmoil in global oil markets.

Saudi Arabia forms a key part of the global oil supply chain for both economic and geographic reasons. The kingdom is home to the world's largest oil company, Saudi Aramco, and the Red Sea along the Saudi western coast has become a key waterway for oil shipping since hostilities between Iran and the U.S. began threatening the viability of the Strait of Hormuz, the world's most strategically important maritime oil chokepoint.

The success of Houthi attacks often correlates with jumps in global oil prices; Brent Crude, the international benchmark, climbed to over $105 a barrel on Thursday following various less deadly attacks by the Yemeni rebels on Saudi airports earlier this week. Saturday's mass-casualty event could drive oil prices up further.

Houthi military spokesman Brigadier General Yahya Saree also claimed on Sunday that the Houthis had attacked two Aramco facilities, one oil refinery and one gas station.

Meanwhile, hostilities between Iran and the U.S. show no signs of abating, as more than a dozen Iranian strikes on shipping in the Strait of Hormuz and the Persian Gulf have been reported since the end of September, keeping global oil prices at above $100 per barrel.

On Saturday, the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC) reported that an oil supertanker capable of carrying approximately 2 million barrels of oil struck a mine and exploded after attempting to leave the Hormuz Strait via an unauthorized route.

Neither Washington nor Tehran have agreed to return to the negotiating table; Tehran's Supreme National Security Council Secretary Mohsen Rezaei said on Sunday that Washington's latest response to Iran's proposal to reopen the Hormuz Strait was "insufficient" and claimed that the U.S. accepted some of Iran's conditions, but had to clarify others.

The Energy Information Administration predicts that Brent Crude, which closed at above $104 on Friday, will average $105 per barrel in the final quarter of 2026 primarily due to the effect of conflicts, particularly in the Middle East. This weekend's geopolitical developments in the region will likely prevent significant downward deviation from that figure.