Houthis Strike Saudi Aramco Refinery in Jizan
Yemen’s Houthis said they had struck a Saudi Aramco oil refinery at Jizan, in southern Saudi Arabia, with a drone overnight, and the Saudi energy ministry confirmed a fire at the facility that was later put out with no injuries. It marked a significant escalation — a direct hit on the kingdom’s oil infrastructure — amid the wider confrontation with Iran. The Houthis called the strike “precise”, a claim that could not be independently verified.
The attack raised the stakes in a standoff that has already kept the Strait of Hormuz shut and oil prices elevated, and it signalled the Iran-aligned Houthis’ willingness to hit at Saudi Arabia’s economic heart. The group, which controls much of Yemen and has attacked Red Sea shipping, has grown emboldened during the war. Riyadh played down the damage, but any sustained campaign against its refineries and export terminals would ripple through global energy markets. The strike came as Saudi Arabia deepened its own regional alliances, days after signing a mutual-defence pact with Turkey and Pakistan. Watch whether the Houthis widen their attacks on Saudi oil sites.