Saudi Arabia halts operations at major oil facility after Houthi attack

Saudi Aramco has reportedly suspended operations at its Abqaiq oil processing and stabilisation facility following a Houthi attack on Monday. Iran-backed Houthi forces in Yemen fired missiles and drones at two of Saudi Arabia’s most strategically important oil facilities on the Red Sea, in a major escalation of regional conflict.

In retaliation for an attack on Sanaa airport, the Houthis declared a naval blockade of Saudi Arabia. This led to Saudi air strikes on the Houthi-held city of Hodeidah. In response, Houthi forces launched attacks on facilities belonging to Saudi state oil giant Aramco in the coastal cities of Jizan and Yanbu.

Video verified by Reuters showed a large column of smoke rising from the direction of the Aramco refinery in Jizan. In Yanbu, Saudi Arabia’s principal west coast export gateway, two ballistic missiles aimed at oil installations were intercepted by a Patriot battery operated by the Greek military. Trading sources indicated potential damage to fuel and oil storage sites at Jizan.

The escalating conflict has raised fears that the Houthis could block the Bab al-Mandeb Strait, which connects the Red Sea to the Gulf of Aden. If both the Bab al-Mandeb and Hormuz straits were blocked, the resulting supply chain crisis would cause major economic damage across the world.

Meanwhile, the United States held back from launching air strikes on Iran for the first night in two weeks, despite a streak of 13 nights of escalating strikes in retaliation for Iranian attacks on shipping in the Strait of Hormuz. President Donald Trump reportedly directed the military not to conduct new strikes against Iran, and the U.S. and Iran were said to be in talks to negotiate an end to their conflict.