Houthis Attack Saudi Aramco Refinery After Saudi Strikes on Hodeidah
Missile and drone attack on refinery in Jazan escalates conflict between Houthis and Saudi Arabia, as fragile Yemen ceasefire hangs by a thread.
Missile and drone attack on refinery in Jazan escalates conflict between Houthis and Saudi Arabia, as fragile Yemen ceasefire hangs by a thread.
The Houthis (Ansar Allah, an Iran-backed Yemeni armed group) launched a missile and drone attack on Saturday, July 25, 2026, targeting the Saudi Aramco refinery in the southern Saudi province of Jazan, just hours after Saudi forces bombarded the strategic port city of Hodeidah in western Yemen. The Houthis claimed responsibility for the attack via their Telegram channel Ansarollah, announcing that a more detailed statement would be released later.
A series of Saudi strikes hit the facilities of the Telecommunications Corporation in the city of Hodeidah late on July 24, according to reports from the Houthi-affiliated Al Masirah TV, injuring one worker. The strikes also targeted Kamaran Island, where a woman was wounded. The Saudi-led coalition claimed responsibility for the attacks, with coalition spokesman Major General Turki al-Malki stating that the strikes were a proportional military response to what he called legitimate Houthi military targets in Hodeidah linked to threats against maritime navigation. Al-Malki emphasized that the port of Hodeidah was not targeted and that all Yemeni ports remain open for navigation.
The Saudi Aramco refinery in Jazan was built at a cost of approximately nine billion dollars (about 8.3 billion euros) and has a processing capacity of around 400,000 barrels of oil per day, making it a key element of Saudi Arabia's crude oil processing strategy. Following the attack, according to a report by the SouthFront portal, thick columns of smoke rose from the refinery, and NASA's FIRMS satellite fire monitoring system recorded multiple hotspots at the site. Saudi Aramco, the state-owned oil company of Saudi Arabia, did not comment on the attack at the time of publication.
On July 20, the Houthis announced the imposition of a naval blockade of Saudi Arabia in the Red Sea, in response to what they describe as a Saudi siege of Yemen. Three days after that announcement, on July 23, they attacked two Saudi oil tankers in the Red Sea, setting one on fire. According to a report by the Anadolu Agency, the Houthis also targeted an oil facility belonging to Saudi Aramco in Jazan. Greek security sources told Reuters that an air defense system operated by Greek military personnel in Saudi Arabia intercepted two ballistic missiles fired from Yemen towards refineries in Yanbu, in the western Medina Province.
The Houthis described the Saudi strikes on Hodeidah as a "dangerous escalation," warning that the "crimes will not go unanswered." The latest exchange of strikes between Saudi Arabia and the Houthis calls into question the fragile ceasefire in Yemen, which was already under increasing pressure in recent months. According to Iranian state media, former Iranian Revolutionary Guard commander Hossein Kanani Moghadam stated that Iran and the Houthis will no longer enter into a cycle of war, truce, and negotiations, and that the Houthis could target Saudi oil infrastructure if the US and Saudi Arabia increase pressure on Yemen. It should be noted that Iran TV is Iranian state media, so these statements should be interpreted in that context.
