Houthis Strike Saudi Aramco Facilities in Missile and Drone Attacks

The Middle East conflict widened significantly on Saturday, July 26, 2026, as Yemen’s Iran-backed Houthi rebels launched missile and drone salvos against Saudi oil infrastructure. The strikes targeted facilities operated by the state oil giant Saudi Aramco in the Red Sea port cities of Jizan and Yanbu, marking a dangerous escalation that directly threatens crucial regional trade corridors.

Houthi Strikes Hit Saudi Aramco Facilities as Red Sea Front Opens

The coordinated attacks on Saudi territory followed a wave of Saudi airstrikes on Friday that targeted Houthi positions in Yemen, including a naval base in the strategic port city of Hodeida and a military camp on Kamaran Island. Residents in Hodeida described the initial bombardment as sounding like the sound of loud thunder, according to local accounts gathered by international media.

In a video statement, military spokesman Yahya Saree said the rebels targeted sites operated by the Saudi oil giant Aramco in Jizan and Yanbu, threatening to expand the group’s response if attacked by the Gulf monarchy.

The entry of the Houthi movement into the active theater compounds maritime security risks across the region. Earlier in the week, the group announced a maritime blockade in the Red Sea and targeted Saudi tankers, raising alarms among energy analysts. A surface-to-air battery operated by Greek personnel in Saudi Arabia downed two ballistic missiles and later a drone launched from Yemen targeting Yanbu.

Economic Fallout and Spiking Global Energy Prices

The widening hostilities have instantly reverberated through global energy markets. International benchmark Brent crude surged more than 6% to break through $100 a barrel for the first time since May, rising 7% according to reports, while world leaders expressed alarm after Yemen’s rebels hit oil tankers in the Red Sea.

Shipping lines are actively rerouting vessels to avoid volatile chokepoints. While the Strait of Hormuz remained all but impassable, many Gulf shipments have been rerouted through Oman’s Salalah port on the Arabian Sea, but Danish shipping giant Maersk said operations there were temporarily suspended after a drone attack. Fire broke out after Iranian missiles and drones struck the Khalifa Economic Zone in Abu Dhabi, injuring six people, while Emirates Global Aluminium reported significant damage. Air travel has also been disrupted, with authorities in Kuwait and Erbil in Iraqi Kurdistan reporting airport facilities hit in strikes by Iran.

Houthis Launch Missile and Drone Strikes on Saudi Aramco Facilities

Washington Weighs Response While Diplomacy Stalls

President Donald Trump addressed the escalating crisis, insisting that Iran cannot have a nuclear weapon as strikes have spread across the Middle East. Appearing to backtrack from an earlier threat of massive strikes, Trump said that discussions had been going “well,” noting: “They are talking to us right now. They’d love to make a deal. I don’t think they’re ready to. I don’t think it’s time yet, but I’m willing to listen. But they cannot have a nuclear weapon. We don’t want to see Washington DC, or any of our cities, or Israel, or frankly the Middle East, destroyed with a nuclear weapons, because I know the power of nuclear weapons.”

Trump warned that if the Houthis repeat such attacks, the United States will hold Iran responsible and inflict major military punishment, framing the Houthis as a Surrogate and/or Proxy of Iran. Trump also said any and all damages to ships struck by Iran will be paid for by Iranian Money that the United States has in its possession, and controls. CBS News reported he threatened Iran and its Houthi allies in Yemen with major military punishment if the Houthis launch more attacks on Saudi vessels.

The U.S. launched another nightly round of air strikes on Iran after the Houthis’ claims, extending the Middle East war to a second major shipping corridor.

Meanwhile, the US on Saturday unequivocally and forcefully condemned an attack on the residence of Nechirvan Barzani, the president of the autonomous region of Iraqi Kurdistan, blaming it on pro-Iranian militias in Iraq. Tommy Pigott, the State Department’s deputy spokesperson, said in a statement that these actions by Iran and its proxies are a direct assault on Iraq’s sovereignty, stability, and unity. Iraqi Kurdistan Prime Minister Masrour Barzani also condemned the cowardly drone attack, writing on X: Once again, we call on the federal government to act on its responsibility, bring these outlaw criminals to justice, and curb the continued terrorist attacks carried out by these groups.

Pakistan has said it would host a meeting of Middle Eastern powers on Monday in an effort to find a regional approach to ending the conflict, though the talks—bringing together the foreign ministers of Saudi Arabia, Turkey, and Egypt—did not appear to include any of the warring parties, casting further doubt on persistent US claims of diplomatic progress.