[Anchor]

Saudi Arabia and the Iran-backed Houthi rebels have clashed in what resembles an all-out war over the Red Sea strait, an alternative crude oil shipping route to the Strait of Hormuz. International oil prices have soared close to 100 dollars a barrel, and the United States, pointing the finger at Iran as the mastermind, has resumed airstrikes.

Correspondent Lee Hanseok reports from Washington.

[Reporter]

The Iran-backed Houthi rebels launched a surprise attack using drones and missiles targeting four cities in southern Saudi Arabia.

The targets included a Saudi air force base and core oil refinery and power facilities belonging to the state-owned oil company Aramco.

Saudi authorities stated that 73 people were injured in the attack, and Saudi-led coalition fighter jets immediately launched retaliatory airstrikes on areas in the Yemeni capital of Sanaa.

Clashes between the two sides over the past week have left more than 500 people dead and generated some 18,000 refugees.

Following the blockade of the Strait of Hormuz, this crisis is the worst showdown yet over control of the Red Sea strait, which serves as Saudi Arabia's crude oil export lifeline.

As Middle East tensions peaked, global energy markets experienced major turbulence, with Brent crude approaching 100 dollars a barrel.

The U.S. administration pointed to Iran as the mastermind behind the crisis, slapping massive sanctions on 36 targets, including 27 Iranian commercial airlines, and raising the pressure to its highest level.

[Trump / U.S. President: Iran will never have a nuclear weapon. Iran will not have a nuclear weapon.]

The U.S. military also resumed airstrikes.

It carried out multiple bombings, including an airstrike on a small Iranian oil tanker near Kharg Island, Iran's crude oil export hub.

The Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps released footage claiming it had captured an advanced U.S. autonomous underwater vehicle in the Strait of Hormuz.

Qatar, serving as a mediator, urgently reached out to the international community, including China, to unlock the deadlocked end-of-war negotiations between the United States and Iran.

However, as the sparks of an all-out war spread across the entire Middle East, it appears to be falling short of breaking down the deep-seated walls of distrust between the United States and Iran.

(Video reporting: Park Eun-ha, Video editing: Cho Mu-hwan)