Houthis Escalate Conflict with Saudi Arabia as US Pauses Strikes

The conflict between Iran and Saudi Arabia has escalated as Houthi forces attacked Aramco oil installations in Jizan and Yanbu, along the Red Sea coast. The attacks came despite a pause in US strikes on Iran, which was announced by U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations Mike Waltz.

The US naval blockade against Iran remains in full effect, according to the U.S. military. In Jizan, a large column of smoke rose from the direction of the Aramco refinery near the Yemeni border, which can process up to 400,000 barrels of crude oil daily. Two missiles aimed at oil installations were intercepted in Yanbu, described as Saudi Arabia's main Red Sea oil port and a key route for Saudi oil skirting the Strait of Hormuz.

The Houthi leader Abdul Malik al-Houthi has declared that all Saudi oil facilities could be targets, amid the escalating conflict. The Houthis also claimed they shot down a Turkish-made armed reconnaissance drone over northwest Yemen, according to military spokesman Yahya Saree.