Houthis Strike Saudi Oil Installations as US Holds Back on Iran Airstrikes
Yemen's Iran-aligned Houthi militants launched attacks on Saudi oil installations in Jizan and Yanbu, but the US held back from launching airstrikes on Iran for the first time in two weeks. The Houthis claimed to have successfully struck sites belonging to Saudi state oil giant Aramco in Jizan and Yanbu.
A large column of smoke was seen rising from the direction of the Aramco refinery in Jizan, according to video shared on social media and verified by Reuters. Two Asia-based trading sources said they had been informed of potential damage to fuel and oil storage sites at Jizan.
Yanbu is Saudi Arabia's main Red Sea oil port, where millions of barrels a day are loaded, and has become the main route out for Saudi oil skirting the Strait of Hormuz, which has been blockaded by Iran. Jizan, on the Red Sea close to the Yemeni border, is the site of a refinery with a capacity of 400,000 barrels per day.
The US had previously conducted airstrikes against Iranian targets in response to disruptions to shipping in the Strait of Hormuz. However, for the first time in two weeks, there were no reports of attacks from Iran on its Gulf neighbors.