SANA'A, YEMEN, 26 July. - (ANA) - Yemen's Houthi group fired missiles and drones at Saudi oil refineries on Saturday morning as tensions between the two sides continue to escalate.

 

The Iran-backed group said it had targeted Aramco refineries in the Red Sea ports of Yanbu and Jizan.

 

Security sources told Reuters that air defences in Yanbu had successfully intercepted two ballistic missiles fired from Yemen.

 

Saudi civil defence had earlier issued warnings for the two cities.

 

Houthi-affiliated media shared images and video purporting to show explosions and smoke at Jizan.

 

Reuters said it had verified video showing smoke rising near the Aramco refinery in Jizan. Two Asia-based trading sources said that they had been informed of some damage at the site.

 

Yanbu has become a critical lifeline for Saudi Arabia's oil industry, which has been unable to export via the Arabian Gulf because of Iran's lockdown of the Strait of Hormuz.

 

It has diverted millions of barrels of oil to the port city, which hosts one of the kingdom's only export terminal outside of the Gulf.

 

The attacks came hours after the Saudi-led coalition struck the Houthi-held port city Hodeidah and Kamaran Island.

 

The Houthis called the strikes "a dangerous escalation and an extension of its policy of collective punishment and blockade".

 

 

 

 

Four years of calm between the two sides were brought to an end earlier this month after the collapse of the US and Iran's tentative peace deal.

 

Iran has repeatedly threatened to open a new front in the Red Sea if the US intensified its attacks. Iranian sources said this week that the Revolutionary Guard had dispatched commanders, military advisers and weaponry to the country.

 

The Houthis on 20 July announced they would impose a blockade on Saudi ports in response to an attack on Sanaa's airport, which was claimed by the Saudi-backed, internationally-recognised government.

 

The group has since attacked several Saudi-linked oil tankers and warned shipping companies against loading oil at Saudi ports.

 

A number of ships have turned back from the Bab al-Mandeb strait in recent days after receiving threatening emails from the Houthis

 

Conflict in the Red Sea or disruption at the crucial Bab al-Mandeb chokepoint would send further shockwaves through the global energy markets, which are already reeling from Iran's closure of the Strait of Hormuz. It would also put more pressure on Saudi Arabia, the world's second-largest oil producer.

 

The Houthi blockade has stoked fresh fears about the world's oil supply, with prices surpassing $100 a barrel on Thursday.

 

The latest attacks come as renewed conflict between Iran and the US neared its third week.

 

Iran has responded to US attacks on its southern coast by striking American military bases across the region and targeting power plants and desalination facilities in the Gulf.

 

Trump has threatened in recent days to expand the range of targets to include Iranian power plants and bridges, as well as an underground nuclear-linked facility known as Pickaxe Mountain.   - (ANA) -

 

AB/ANA/26 July 2026 - - -