Houthis claim drone strike on Saudi refinery and Red Sea port
The Iran-backed Houthi movement said it launched drones and missiles at an Aramco refinery in Jazan and at Yemen's Mocha port, while Saudi officials reported a fire at the refinery but no casualties.
The Houthi military spokesperson Yahya Saree said the group used a drone to attack an Aramco refinery in Jazan, Saudi Arabia, in retaliation for Saudi drones that he said violated Yemeni airspace over Hajjah and Saada. Saudi Energy Ministry officials confirmed a fire broke out at the refinery facility early on Sunday, but said it was extinguished without injuries and did not specify the cause.
Yemen’s information ministry assistant undersecretary Fayed al-Noman said the Houthis also fired missiles and drones at Mocha port, a key Red Sea hub under the internationally recognised Yemeni government that has been upgraded to handle cargo avoiding Houthi-controlled ports. The Houthis later said they launched "a large number of ballistic missiles and drones" targeting military enforcement and warehouses at the site.
The incidents come amid broader regional tensions, including Iran’s ongoing negotiations with Oman over temporary maritime routes through the Strait of Hormuz and U.S. Pentagon efforts to accelerate weapons production. The Pentagon spokesperson Sean Parnell said the department is working to provide "the weapons our warfighters need at the pace the threat demands."