Houthis Attack Jazan Refinery After Saudi Defense Pact

Yemen's Iran-aligned Houthi rebels have attacked Saudi Arabia's Jazan refinery, citing the kingdom's alleged siege on them. The attack comes just two days after Saudi Arabia signed a defense pact with Turkey and Pakistan in response to growing regional instability following the US-Israel war on Iran.

The alliance between Saudi Arabia, Turkey, and Pakistan stipulates that an armed attack against any of the three would be regarded as an attack on all. However, it remains unclear whether or how either Pakistan or Turkey would join in any Saudi response to the latest attacks.

The Houthi rebels used a drone to target the refinery, which processes 400,000 barrels of crude oil per day in southwestern Saudi Arabia. The attack is the latest in a series of strikes on Aramco sites in Jazan, with the Houthis also hitting Yanbu on the Red Sea.

Rashad al-Alimi, head of Yemen's Saudi-backed presidential council, has called on the international community to address the Houthi threat and its sources. Al-Alimi said the attack put a responsibility on the international community, 'foremost among them the U.S., to move beyond only containing the Houthi threat to addressing its sources and instruments.'

The Yemeni transportation ministry has reported severe damage to the port's infrastructure in Mocha, a strategic city near the Bab el-Mandeb strait. The attack has also killed seven people.