Houthis Strike Saudi Oil Sites as US Halts Strikes on Iran

The Yemeni Houthi rebels fired on Saudi oil installations at two Red Sea ports on Saturday, but the United States refrained from launching air strikes on Iran for the first time in two weeks.

Washington gave no immediate explanation for halting a streak of 13 nights of escalating strikes after an interim deal to end hostilities collapsed. The US had launched the attacks in retaliation for Iranian disruptions of shipping in the Strait of Hormuz.

The Houthi military spokesperson, Yahya Saree, confirmed that the group had successfully struck sites belonging to Saudi state oil giant Aramco in Jizan and Yanbu. Video shared on social media showed a large column of smoke rising from the direction of the Aramco refinery in Jizan.

The strikes by Iran's Houthi allies on Saudi Arabia are a sign that the war disrupting energy supplies from the Gulf could be spreading to a second major shipping route and reigniting Yemen's own civil war. The US President, Donald Trump, had vowed 'major military punishment' for Tehran and the Houthis after the Houthis struck two Saudi tankers in the Red Sea.