Yemen’s Houthis say struck refinery on Saudi’s Red Sea coast

The Yemeni Houthi rebels, backed by Iran, claimed responsibility on Sunday for striking an Aramco refinery on Saudi Arabia's Red Sea coast. The Houthis reported that a drone had been used in the attack, which appeared to be precisely targeted. Their military spokesman, Yahya Saree, stated that the strike was a response to Saudi drone incursions into northwest Yemen.

The Aramco refinery is owned by Saudi Arabia's state-owned oil company. This attack follows a truce collapse in Yemen's civil war last month, during which the Houthis declared a maritime blockade against their northern neighbor and attacked Saudi tankers in the Red Sea. The Houthis maintain control over large areas of Yemen, including the capital Sanaa and regions near Saudi Arabia's Red Sea provinces.

Concurrently, Iran has blockaded the Strait of Hormuz, intensifying tensions between Tehran and Washington as they seek to end the Middle East conflict that began in February under the US and Israeli leadership. Earlier, Saudi Arabia's energy ministry reported that civil response teams had successfully contained a fire at the Jizan refinery without specifying the cause of the blaze. The facility had previously been targeted by the Houthis in July 2022.