Houthis claim Aramco Jazan drone strike as Hormuz tensions deepen

Sanaa,UPDATED: Aug 9, 2026 13:20 IST

Yemen's Houthis said on Sunday that they had attacked an Aramco oil facility in south-western Saudi Arabia, in the latest strike by the Iran-backed group on the kingdom. The claim came as Iran made fresh demands over the reopening of the Strait of Hormuz, while the Pentagon said it was pushing for faster weapons production.

The developments point to continued tension across the Middle East, with attacks linked to Yemen's conflict, pressure around one of the world's key shipping routes, and concerns in Washington over military stockpiles during the war with Iran.

Houthi military spokesperson Yahya Saree said the group targeted an Aramco refinery in Jazan with a drone. He said the attack was in response to Saudi drones breaching Yemen's airspace over Hajjah and Saada provinces. Early on Sunday, Saudi Arabia's Energy Ministry reported a fire at a facility belonging to the Aramco refinery and said there were no casualties. The ministry said the fire had been put out, but did not give a cause.

The Houthi strike is the latest in a series of missile and drone attacks targeting Saudi Arabia and its shipping in the Red Sea. The escalation threatens to revive Yemen's civil war more than four years after a 2022 truce halted major fighting in the impoverished Arab country.

In Iran, the Supreme Security Council said the Strait of Hormuz would not reopen until the United States "corrects its behavior". Iran's state broadcaster carried the statement by the council's secretary, Mohammad Bagher Zolghadr, who is also a commander in the Revolutionary Guard. The statement said the US must never threaten Iran again and must permanently end the war with Iran and its armed allies in the region. It also said the US must lift the naval blockade of Iranian ports, withdraw its military from the area, "completely compensate" Iran for war damage, lift sanctions and "unconditionally" release frozen assets.

The US, which has sought an acceptable deal on the strait before ending the blockade, had no immediate comment. Under an interim deal signed in June, a timetable to end sanctions and a compensation plan would form part of the final agreement, while talks would also cover frozen assets.

Separately, Pentagon spokesperson Sean Parnell said on Saturday that the department was focused on increasing munitions purchases to provide "the weapons our warfighters need at the pace the threat demands". A new analysis by the Center for Strategic and Studies, a Washington think tank, said the war with Iran had used more of the US military's already reduced stockpiles of advanced missile interceptors. Parnell said the push for quicker deliveries was part of a broader modernisation effort that predated the five-month-old conflict.

Two people familiar with the talks said Iran and Oman were working to finalise a temporary deal to reopen the Strait of Hormuz. They said ships would enter through a route close to Iran and leave through one close to Oman, and would not pay fees or tolls during the interim period. According to the two people, who spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorised to speak publicly, the deal is meant to restore an earlier separate agreement between the US and Iran and restart a 60-day clock for nuclear negotiations. They said the proposal is backed by members of the Gulf Cooperation Council and, if finalised, is expected to be jointly announced by Iran, Oman, the US and the Maritime Organization of the United Nations, though they stressed the terms could still change.

In sum, Sunday's developments included a claimed Houthi drone attack on an Aramco facility, new Iranian conditions for reopening the Strait of Hormuz, a Pentagon push to speed up weapons production, and continued talks on a temporary Iran-Oman arrangement for the waterway.

With PTI Inputs

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