Key Takeaways:
Houthi missile and drone salvos struck Saudi Aramco facilities in two Red Sea ports Saturday, opening a new front in the Middle East war that threatens the kingdom's last remaining crude export route.
Yemen's Iran-backed Houthis fired ballistic missiles and drones at Saudi Aramco facilities in Jizan and Yanbu on Saturday, the first such attack since a 2022 truce, as Brent crude traded above $100 a barrel.
"This is a dangerous escalation that directly threatens Saudi Arabia's ability to export oil," said Ayham Kamel, head of Middle East and North Africa research at the Eurasia Group. "Yanbu is now the kingdom's only viable export channel after the Hormuz blockade."
The Houthis said they struck Aramco sites in Jizan, home to a 400,000 barrel-per-day refinery, and Yanbu, Saudi Arabia's main Red Sea oil port where millions of barrels are loaded daily. A Greek-operated Patriot battery intercepted two ballistic missiles over Yanbu, Greek security sources said. Saudi-led coalition warplanes retaliated by striking Houthi missile launch sites and weapons depots in Marib and al-Jawf provinces, killing multiple fighters including missile technicians, according to Yemeni officials.
The exchange marks the collapse of Yemen's four-year ceasefire and threatens to sever Saudi Arabia's last crude export artery. With Iran blockading the Strait of Hormuz — which handles about 21 percent of global oil trade — Yanbu has become the kingdom's sole alternative for crude exports via an east-west pipeline. Any sustained damage to the terminal could spike global oil prices further, with Brent already up 7 percent this week to above $100.
The Houthi attacks came after Saudi airstrikes on Friday hit the rebel-held port city of Hodeida and Kamaran Island, which the Houthis called a "dangerous escalation." The group had already declared a maritime blockade of Saudi Arabia in the Red Sea earlier this week and struck two Saudi tankers, contributing to one of the sharpest oil price rallies since the war began in February.
The escalation coincides with a pause in US strikes on Iran for the first time in 14 nights. President Donald Trump said Friday he had not authorized a 14th round of strikes, telling reporters "we are talking to them" and that Iran was "by far the most serious that we've seen." Axios reported the Pentagon had presented a plan for continued strikes but Trump opted against it, favoring a push for renewed talks.
Iran's Revolutionary Guards said Saturday they stopped four ships attempting to transit the Strait of Hormuz over the past 24 hours, while a fresh incident involving a tanker and military forces was reported near the strait, according to the United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations monitor.
The last time Houthi forces struck Saudi oil infrastructure at this scale was during the 2019 Abqaiq-Khurais attacks, which temporarily knocked out half of Saudi production and sent crude prices surging 15 percent in a single day. The current escalation carries similar supply-side risk but with the added vulnerability of the Hormuz closure, which has already forced Saudi Arabia to reroute exports through the Red Sea.
This article is for informational purposes only and does not constitute investment advice.
