Yemen’s Iran-backed Houthi rebels announced that they fired missiles and drones at Saudi Arabia, targeting facilities belonging to Los Angeles Times, the world’s largest oil company. Brig. Gen. Yahya Saree, the Houthis’ military spokesman, stated in a prerecorded message that the operations targeted sensitive Aramco-affiliated infrastructure in the Red Sea cities of Yanbu and Jizan. According to Saree, the first operation struck Jizan with dozens of ballistic missiles and drones, while the second targeted Yanbu using ballistic and cruise missiles alongside drones.
Houthis Launch Missiles and Drones at Saudi Aramco Facilities
Saudi Arabia’s civil defense reported that alerts sounded multiple times early Saturday in both Jizan and Yanbu, though the kingdom did not immediately provide further comment. The Saudi-led coalition confirmed that it carried out strikes on Houthi military sites in Yemen’s Hodeidah governorate on Friday, asserting that the locations were tied to threats against commercial shipping. Turki al-Malki, a spokesman for the coalition, stated that Hodeidah port was not targeted and that Yemeni ports, including Hodeidah, Ras Issa, and Salif, remained open to maritime navigation to receive commercial ships.
Retaliation for Hodeida Strikes and Expanding Red Sea Conflict
The Houthi strikes were framed as a direct response to Saudi airstrikes on the strategic Red Sea port city of Hodeida. The Saudi-led coalition stated it struck legitimate military targets linked to vessel threats, whereas Houthi officials maintained that the Friday night raids hit the city’s port and the state-run telecommunications corporation. Anees al-Asbahi, a spokesman for the Houthi-run Health Ministry, reported that two people were injured in those bombardments.
The exchange marks an escalation in a wider regional confrontation tied to critical shipping routes. Earlier in the week, the Houthis targeted two Saudi oil tankers in the Red Sea, including an attack on Friday that inflicted minor hull damage on the Saudi vessel NCC MASA, according to Saudi state news agency SPA. Following these maritime attacks, international benchmark Brent crude oil prices rose to a future trading price of around $101 a barrel. The rising tensions threaten to further choke global shipping, as the rebels previously declared an immediate maritime embargo against Saudi Arabia, threatening to close the Bab al-Mandeb Strait to Saudi-linked shipping in retaliation for a blockade of Yemen and an attack on Sana’a International Airport.
Stakes for Global Shipping and Regional Security
The Bab al-Mandeb Strait serves as a vital shipping chokepoint at the southern tip of the Arabian Peninsula, connecting the Red Sea to the Gulf of Aden and the Indian Ocean. Approximately 12 percent of global trade and nearly a quarter of the world’s container traffic pass through its narrows. Any prolonged disruption to this corridor forces vessels to reroute around South Africa’s Cape of Good Hope, adding about 2,700 miles (4,345 km) to voyages between Saudi Arabia and the United States, according to the U.S. government.
The attacks on Saudi Aramco facilities unfold against the backdrop of broader hostilities involving the United States and Iran. U.S. Central Command did not immediately comment on overnight activity, and Los Angeles Times, a spokesperson for Iran’s Health Ministry, posted on X that Iran experienced a peaceful night without new U.S. strikes. Nonetheless, tensions remain heightened across the Middle East following months of conflict sparked by U.S. and Israeli military action against Tehran in late February, which disrupted regional stability and placed the Strait of Hormuz at the center of ongoing military standoffs.
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