Iran-backed Houthi rebels attacked an oil refinery owned by Saudi Aramco and a key Red Sea port on Sunday, resulting in the deaths of at least seven people and injuring 15 others. Officials stated that the coordinated strikes targeted the Aramco refinery in Jazan and the port of Mokha.
A fire erupted at the Jazan refinery early Sunday after being hit by a Houthi drone, according to Yahya Saree, a military spokesperson for the group. Saree claimed the attack was in response to recent Saudi drone strikes in Houthi-controlled provinces.
"The competent authorities are completing the necessary procedures to deal with the incident," Saudi Arabia’s Ministry of Energy said in a statement, reporting no injuries at the refinery.
Simultaneously, the Houthis launched a missile and drone attack on the port of Mokha, which is controlled by the Yemeni government allied with Saudi Arabia. Four soldiers and three civilians were killed in this attack, according to the National Resistance Forces, a Yemeni government-allied group. Fayed al-Noman, assistant undersecretary of Yemen’s information ministry, reported significant damage to the port's buildings, pier, and cargo.
The port of Mokha is considered one of Yemen's crucial ports, recently renovated, and used to bypass Houthi-controlled docks in Hodeida. The Houthis asserted that their strikes in Mokha were also aimed at Saudi enemy troops and equipment allegedly stationed near the city.
These repeated confrontations between the Houthis and the Saudi-backed Yemeni government raise concerns about reigniting Yemen's civil war, which ended in 2022. The conflict also poses a risk of escalating into a wider regional war, as the Iran-backed group aims to control shipping lanes along the Bab el-Mandeb Strait, potentially impacting global oil supplies.