Yemen’s Iran-aligned Houthis claimed responsibility for a drone attack on a state-owned Aramco oil refinery in southwestern Saudi Arabia early Sunday. Firefighters have since extinguished the resulting blaze. This strike followed a barrage on the Yemeni port city of Mokha and its commercial port, where a medical source reports at least 11 people were killed. Mokha is one of the main ports under Yemen’s internationally recognized government, having been renovated to handle shipping that avoids Houthi-held ports in Hodeida.
These attacks come as Saudi Arabia signs a defense pact with Turkey and Pakistan, which stipulates that an attack against one member would be regarded as an attack on all. The alliance was formed in response to growing regional instability caused by the US-Israel war on Iran. Houthi attacks have increased since a 2022 truce appears to have been broken last month.
Simultaneously, Iran has issued tough new demands regarding the restart of negotiations and the reopening of the Strait of Hormuz. The United Arab Emirates also reported that one of its ships had been targeted by an Iranian missile as a deal to open the strategic waterway remains out of reach. In response to the escalating crisis, the Pentagon is pressing the U.S. defense industry to accelerate the production of weapons.