Houthis strike Saudi Aramco refinery following historic defence pact with Pakistan and Turkey

Yemen’s Iran-aligned Houthis launched a drone strike against Saudi Aramco’s Jazan refinery, just two days after Saudi Arabia signed a tripartite defence pact with Turkey and Pakistan to bolster regional deterrence.

The Saudi Energy Ministry confirmed that emergency crews extinguished a fire resulting from the drone strike at the 400,000-barrel-per-day facility, reporting no casualties or disruptions to operations.

The Houthis also executed combined missile and drone strikes against the Yemeni Red Sea port city of Mocha, killing seven people and damaging critical maritime infrastructure near the Bab-el-Mandeb strait.

The newly forged Saudi alliance with Pakistan and Turkey specifies that an armed aggression against one signatory constitutes an attack on all, though member states have not yet detailed any operational military response.

Houthi military spokesperson Yahya Saree stated that the Red Sea strikes targeted Saudi military assets and ammunition stores, framing the operations as part of an ongoing naval blockade against the kingdom.

The escalating attacks in the Red Sea further complicate global energy transport, depriving Saudi Arabia of key alternative routes while regional access through the Strait of Hormuz remains constrained.