Iran-Backed Houthis Attack Saudi Oil Installations At Two Red Sea Ports

Yemen’s Iran-aligned Houthi militants struck Saudi oil facilities at the Red Sea ports of Jizan and Yanbu on Saturday, while Saudi-backed forces launched airstrikes on Houthi targets in Yemen, opening a second front in a conflict that has already disrupted shipping through the Strait of Hormuz.

The attacks targeted facilities belonging to Saudi state oil company Aramco. Video verified by Reuters showed a large plume of smoke rising from the direction of the Aramco refinery in Jizan.

For the first time in two weeks, no new U.S. airstrikes on Iran were reported. Washington gave no immediate reason for the pause after carrying out strikes for 13 straight nights in response to Iranian attacks on shipping in the Strait of Hormuz following the collapse of an interim agreement to end the fighting.

“It seems that our dear Iran had a peaceful night last night,” Iranian Health Ministry spokesperson Hossein Kermanpour said in a post on X.

There were also no reports on Saturday of Iranian attacks on Gulf neighbours, which had taken place daily in response to the U.S. strikes.

Axios, citing two unidentified sources familiar with the matter, reported that U.S. President Donald Trump had instructed the military on Friday not to carry out new strikes on Iran.

Trump said on Friday that the United States and Iran were holding talks to negotiate an end to the conflict but added that Tehran was not yet ready to reach an agreement.

Despite the pause in U.S. strikes, fighting between the Houthis and Saudi Arabia raised the risk of the conflict spreading beyond the Strait of Hormuz to another major shipping route, while also reigniting Yemen’s civil war.

Houthi military spokesperson Yahya Saree said the group had successfully struck Aramco facilities in Jizan and Yanbu.

Two Asia-based trading sources said they had been informed of possible damage to fuel and oil storage facilities in Jizan.

In Yanbu, two ballistic missiles targeting oil installations were intercepted by a U.S.-made Patriot air defence system operated in Saudi Arabia by the Greek military under an agreement with Riyadh, Greek security sources said.

Yanbu is Saudi Arabia’s main Red Sea oil export port, handling millions of barrels of crude each day. It has become the kingdom’s main export route that avoids the Strait of Hormuz, which has been blockaded by Iran. Jizan, near the Yemeni border on the Red Sea coast, is home to a refinery with a capacity of 400,000 barrels per day.

In Yemen, the air force of the Saudi-backed internationally recognised government struck Houthi missile and drone launch sites and arms depots in Marib and al-Jawf provinces, Yemeni officials said.

Earlier, the Saudi-led military alliance said it had bombed Houthi military positions in the Red Sea port of Hodeidah on Friday.

Yemeni officials said both sides in the country’s civil war were mobilising forces along the front lines.

Saudi Arabia has led an Arab coalition against the Houthis for more than a decade after the Iran-aligned group captured Yemen’s capital, Sanaa, and large parts of northern and western Yemen, including the Red Sea coast.

The civil war, in which hundreds of thousands of people died from fighting and famine, had been largely paused under a ceasefire since 2022. That truce broke down this month, with the Houthis joining the conflict involving their Iranian allies after U.S. and Israeli attacks.

The Houthis declared a naval blockade of Saudi Arabia over the past week, and Houthi leader Abdul Malik al-Houthi said all Saudi oil facilities could become targets if Riyadh increased its involvement in the conflict.

Brent crude rose above $100 a barrel this week for the first time since May.

Trump on Friday vowed “major military punishment” for Tehran and the Houthis after the Houthis said they had struck two Saudi tankers in the Red Sea on Thursday.

The Saudi-led coalition said it would continue taking steps to protect shipping and Saudi interests and would respond “uncompromisingly” if Houthi attacks continued.

Yemen’s Houthi-run foreign ministry said Friday’s Saudi strikes on Hodeidah marked the beginning of a phase of “escalation for escalation” and held Saudi Arabia responsible for any resulting developments.

Houthi-affiliated Al Masirah TV reported that the Saudi strikes hit facilities belonging to the state telecommunications corporation in Hodeidah city and also targeted Kamaran Island off Yemen’s western coast.

Early on Saturday, Saudi Ambassador to Yemen Mohammed Al-Jaber said on X that the kingdom would continue supporting the entry of ships into Hodeidah Port despite Houthi attacks on Red Sea shipping.

References: Hindustan Times, Reuters