Houthis threaten Saudi Arabia’s oil installations for ‘supporting US aggression’

Yemen’s Houthi rebels have threatened to target Saudi Arabia’s oil installations should the country allow a US-led coalition to use its airspace to counter the group’s attacks, a Houthi spokesperson said in an interview with al-Masirah TV on March 25.

“We have sent a message to Saudi Arabia that it will be a target if it allows American fighter jets to use its territory or airspace in their aggression on Yemen,” Mohammed Ali al-Houthi, a member of the group’s Supreme Political Council, said in the interview.

Saudi Arabia’s energy ministry and state-run oil producer Aramco were not immediately available for comment.

The Houthis have stepped up attacks along the Bab al-Mandeb, a critical chokepoint through which 10% of the world’s oil is traded since the onset of the Israel-Hamas conflict in October 2023.

The Yemeni group has gone after oil tankers and containers that have any Israeli ownership or have been bound for one of the country’s ports, prompting several global ship liners to redirect via the longer Cape of Good Hope route.

The US has formed a coalition with Australia, Bahrain, Canada, Denmark, the Netherlands and New Zealand to counter Houthi attacks in the region and safeguard commercial shipping routes.

Saudi Arabia has not made a commitment to joining the coalition and has so far avoided making any statements that could provoke the Houthis.

Saudi-Yemen war

Saudi Arabia has been engaged in a war with Yemen’s Houthi forces since 2015. The Yemeni group, which is backed by Riyadh’s regional rival Iran, targeted Saudi Arabian oil tankers transiting through the Bab al-Mandeb, a critical chokepoint for oil in 2018, leading to a temporary halt in its exports through the strait.

The Houthis also escalated attacks in 2019, targeting two critical energy installations in Saudi Arabia, the oil stabilization plant in Abqaiq as well as sub-stations associated with the Khurais oil field.

The attacks temporarily halved Saudi Arabia’s oil production and led to the biggest intraday jump in oil prices since the 1990 Gulf War.

Aramco’s oil installations including Khurais are monitored by a fleet of drones to scan for threats.

Continued threats

The Houthis have previously threatened to strike the UAE for providing an alternative port and land route for cargoes destined for Israel. While the Houthis have previously targeted the UAE for its role in the Yemen war, they have not struck targets in the Gulf countries since the start of the Israel-Hamas conflict.

On March 23, the Houthis targeted a Chinese-owned oil tanker, causing “minimal damage,” the US Central Command said in a statement on X, formerly Twitter.

M/V Huang Pu, a Panamanian-flagged, Chinese-owned, Chinese-operated oil tanker was targeted by four anti-ship ballistic missiles launched into its vicinity in the Red Sea by the Houthis around 2:50 am to 4:30 am Sanaa time (11:50 pm March 22 to 1:30 am March 23 GMT), according to the statement.

The attack came despite earlier Houthi reassurances that Chinese ships would not be attacked in the Red Sea.
Source: Platts