Houthis claim attack on Saudi oil refinery as Iran war widens to Red Sea

BEIRUT — Yemen's Iran-backed Houthi rebels claimed responsibility for attacks on Saudi oil facilities Saturday, in the first such strikes since 2022. In a video statement, Houthi military spokesperson Yahya Saree said the group fired ballistic missiles and drones at facilities belonging to the state oil company, Aramco, in the Red Sea towns of Yanbu and Jazan. The Yanbu port is the main portal for the kingdom's pipeline that has helped it skirt Iran's blockade of the Strait of Hormuz. Saudi authorities have yet to confirm the strikes. It was not immediately clear how substantial the damage was. NASA's fire monitoring platform FIRMS reported several thermal anomalies at the Jazan refinery. The facility can refine up to 400,000 barrels of oil a day. The strikes by Yemen's Iran-backed Houthi rebels could add to pressures on global oil markets on top of disruptions caused by the closure of the Strait of Hormuz. Toby Matthiesen, a professor at the University of Bristol, told The Post that the recent escalation creates another layer of uncertainty over global oil supply. Last week, Houthi leader Abdul Malek al-Houthi vowed to target Saudi oil facilities if the country were to involve itself in the wider regional war. Saturday was the first such attack since 2022, when the Houthis unleashed widespread strikes on the kingdom targeting oil facilities.