US Halts Airstrikes on Iran Amid Houthi Attacks on Saudi Oil Sites

The Houthi militants in Yemen fired on Saudi oil installations in two ports on the Red Sea coast on July 25, but the US held back from launching air strikes on Iran for the first time in two weeks.

The US had previously conducted a streak of 13 nights of escalating strikes in retaliation for Iranian attacks on shipping in the Strait of Hormuz since an interim deal to end hostilities collapsed.

The Pentagon and the White House did not return messages seeking comment on the pause in air strikes or on a report that President Donald Trump directed the military not to conduct new strikes against Iran.

Houthi military spokesperson Yahya Saree said the group had successfully struck sites belonging to Saudi state oil giant Aramco in Jizan and Yanbu, with a large column of smoke rising from the direction of the Aramco refinery in Jizan.