Yemen rebels claim attack on Saudi Red Sea oil facilities, threaten escalation

Yemen's Houthi rebels claimed on Thursday to have attacked Saudi oil facilities along the Red Sea coast, warning of escalated retaliation if Saudi Arabia continues its assaults. The Iran-aligned group stated they launched drones and missiles at facilities operated by oil giant Saudi Aramco in Jizan and Yanbu.

Houthi military spokesperson Yahya Saree announced the attacks via a pre-recorded video statement. He threatened that the group would "expand operations and escalate offensives in the coming hours and days." The statement suggested the missile and drone offensive was a response to earlier Saudi-led coalition airstrikes on Houthi-controlled areas in Yemen, including the strategic Red Sea port city of Al-Hodeidah and Kamaran Island.

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They launched drones and missiles at Saudi Aramco facilities in Jizan and Yanbu.

Saudi authorities had not immediately commented on the Houthi claims. However, Saudi civil defense reported that alarms sounded multiple times in Jizan and Yanbu earlier in the day. The Saudi-led coalition confirmed it had struck Houthi military sites in Al-Hodeidah in response to the rebels' prior attacks on Red Sea merchant ships, though the port itself remained operational.

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In the coming hours and days... we will expand operations and escalate offensives.