Yemen’s Iran-backed Houthi rebels on Sunday claimed responsibility for a drone attack on an Aramco oil facility in southwestern Saudi Arabia, as tensions continued to rise across the Middle East.
Houthi military spokesperson Yahya Saree said the group targeted an Aramco refinery in the city of Jazan with a drone. He said the attack was carried out in response to Saudi drones allegedly entering Yemeni airspace over the provinces of Hajjah and Saada.
Saudi Arabia’s Energy Ministry earlier Sunday reported a fire at a facility linked to the Aramco refinery. The fire was brought under control and no casualties were reported, the ministry said, without giving a cause for the blaze.
The claimed attack is the latest in a series of Houthi missile and drone attacks targeting Saudi Arabia and shipping routes in the Red Sea. The renewed escalation has raised concerns over a possible resurgence of Yemen’s civil war, more than four years after a 2022 truce halted major fighting.
Iran sets conditions for reopening Strait of Hormuz
Meanwhile, Iran said the Strait of Hormuz would remain closed until the United States changes what Tehran described as its hostile conduct, adding new conditions that could complicate negotiations over reopening the strategically important waterway.
Iran’s state broadcaster quoted Mohammad Bagher Zolghadr, secretary of the country’s Supreme National Security Council and a commander in the Islamic Revolutionary Guard, as saying the United States must permanently end its war against Iran and its armed allies in the region.
Tehran also demanded that Washington refrain from making future threats against Iran, lift its naval blockade of Iranian ports and withdraw US forces from the region.
Iran further called for full compensation for damage caused by the war, the lifting of sanctions and the unconditional release of frozen Iranian assets.
The United States, which has sought an agreement on the Strait of Hormuz before ending the blockade, did not immediately comment on Iran’s demands.
Under an interim agreement signed in June, negotiations on a final deal were expected to include a timetable for lifting sanctions, compensation and arrangements concerning frozen Iranian assets.