Houthis claim missile, drone strikes on Aramco and Saudi air base

Yemen's Houthi forces claimed on Wednesday that they carried out two large-scale military operations against Saudi Arabia, targeting a Saudi Aramco facility in the Red Sea port city of Yanbu with "dozens of ballistic missiles and drones" and firing multiple ballistic missiles at the Khamis Mushait air base in the kingdom's southwest.jpost+2

Houthi military spokesman Yahya Saree said the strikes on the Aramco facility were "precise and direct, causing massive fires and widespread destruction," framing the attacks as retaliation for what the group described as more than 450 Saudi airstrikes across Yemen over the past week. Saudi Arabia did not confirm either attack.middleeasteye+4

Yanbu Emerges as Flashpoint in Widening Conflict

The claimed strikes come amid an already deepening crisis around the Yanbu export terminal. Saudi Aramco confirmed earlier this week that it had suspended crude oil loadings from Yanbu after the kingdom's East-West pipeline — a 7-million-barrel-per-day conduit that bypasses the Strait of Hormuz — was halted following a reported attack on September 10. The suspension pushed ICE Brent back above $108 per barrel, while futures on China's Shanghai Futures Exchange climbed to a record $138 per barrel as Asian refiners scrambled for supply.oilprice

Yanbu is a strategically vital alternative export route that Saudi Arabia built as a hedge against a possible Iranian closure of the Strait of Hormuz. With the pipeline offline, Saudi Arabia has been forced to reroute exports through Persian Gulf terminals, where chartering a VLCC now costs $30–32 per barrel amid record freight rates and war risk premiums.sedaily+1

Broader Tensions Escalate

The attacks followed an earlier Houthi claim that the group shot down a Saudi F-15 fighter jet over Marib province using a locally made surface-to-air missile, though no photographic or video evidence was provided. Saree also rejected Saudi allegations that the Houthis had attempted to strike Mecca, insisting that military targets — oil facilities and air bases — were the group's focus.turkiyetoday+2

Saudi air defenses reportedly intercepted a drone south of Mecca on Tuesday, prompting the kingdom to declare the holy city a "red line". The Organisation of Islamic Cooperation condemned what it called a "heinous" attack.telegraphindia+1

The escalation has unfolded as U.S. officials met Houthi representatives in Oman over the weekend, according to Reuters, even as Washington has signaled reluctance to intervene directly. President Donald Trump said Saturday that the Houthis "don't want to fight with us," while Vice President J.D. Vance said Washington had been in "constant contact" with Riyadh and in "direct conversations with the Houthis themselves".telegraphindia

"We will continue our military operations deep inside Saudi territory," Saree warned, "maintaining the equation of 'a siege for a siege' and 'an escalation for an escalation' until the aggression ceases and the blockade on our beloved country is lifted".mehrnews+1