Houthis claim drone strike on Aramco refinery in Jizan as Saudi teams extinguish fire

Drone strike on Jizan refinery

A fire broke out early on Sunday at a facility belonging to Saudi Aramco's refinery in Jizan, a coastal city on the Red Sea near the border with Yemen. Saudi Arabia's energy ministry said on X that Aramco's industrial firefighting teams extinguished the blaze and that no injuries were reported. The ministry did not specify the cause of the fire, stating only that "the competent authorities are completing the necessary procedures to deal with the incident."

Houthi military spokesman Yahya Saree claimed responsibility, writing on X that the group "succeeded in targeting the Aramco refinery in Jizan with a drone, and the strike was precise." He said the attack came in response to Saudi Arabia's "breach of the airspace of the provinces of Saada and Hajjah" with drones. There was no immediate comment from Riyadh on the Houthi claim. Al Jazeera contacted the Saudi Ministry of Foreign Affairs for response.

Refinery capacity and prior attacks

The Jizan refinery processes 400,000 barrels of crude oil per day, producing gasoline and low-sulfur diesel. The facility was previously attacked by Houthi rebels in late July and temporarily shut down. On July 25, the Houthis claimed attacks on "sensitive" Aramco installations in both Jizan and Yanbu, Saudi Arabia's principal west coast export gateway. Aramco chief Amin Nasser said last week that recent attacks had caused some production interruptions but had no material operational or financial impact, and expressed confidence operations could be restored quickly.

Escalating Houthi campaign

The strike is the latest in a series of Houthi attacks on Saudi territory and energy infrastructure. On Wednesday, the Houthis reported attacking the Saudi tanker Wafa near the port of Yanbu on the Red Sea. On Thursday, a Houthi attack on the Najran province in southern Saudi Arabia wounded 11 civilians. The same day, at least 58 soldiers of Yemen's government forces were killed in an attack on a military base in central Yemen. The Houthis declared a maritime blockade on Saudi Arabia in the Red Sea at the end of July, threatening shipping through the Bab al-Mandeb strait. Saudi authorities have also blamed Iran-aligned armed groups in Iraq for attacks on its oil facilities.

Regional context

Hostilities in Yemen resumed last month, opening a new front in the regional crisis triggered by the war between the United States and Iran. Saudi Arabia, which has led a coalition backing Yemen's internationally recognised government since 2015, has also been the target of Iranian-aligned attacks. The Strait of Hormuz has been blocked by Iran, making the Red Sea a vital route for hydrocarbon transport. On Friday, Saudi Arabia signed a mutual defence pact with Turkey and Pakistan, under which an armed attack on any of the three countries is considered an attack on all. Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan said the alliance was not directed against Iran or any other country.

The 2022 truce between the Houthis and Yemen's internationally recognised government has come under growing strain. The Houthis seized control of the capital Sanaa in 2014 and have since advanced across much of the country.