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Yemen's Houthi group on Monday claimed it launched a drone attack targeting key facilities along Saudi Arabia's crude oil supply route to the Red Sea port of Yanbu.
The group's armed forces said multiple drones struck "a number of sensitive targets and points for the supply and transport of crude oil from eastern Saudi Arabia to Yanbu," describing the operation as retaliation for repeated Saudi drone incursions into Yemeni airspace, local media Al-Masirah TV reported.
The attacks coincided with Saudi Arabia accusing Iran-backed militias in Iraq of launching multiple drones toward the kingdom's oil infrastructure on the same day.
Riyadh said its air defenses intercepted and destroyed the drones before they reached petroleum facilities in the Eastern Province and the Riyadh region, adding that the launches originated from Iraqi territory.
The Defense Ministry and Foreign Ministry condemned the attacks, reaffirming Saudi Arabia's right to defend its territory and critical infrastructure while warning that the kingdom reserves the right to respond "at the appropriate time and place."
Riyadh also called on the Iraqi government to ensure its territory is not used as "a launching point" for attacks against Saudi Arabia.
Yanbu has become one of Saudi Arabia's most strategically important energy hubs since the Strait of Hormuz crisis prompted the kingdom to reroute crude exports away from the Persian Gulf.
The Red Sea port is linked to Saudi Arabia's eastern oil fields through the East-West pipeline, or Petroline, which operates at its full capacity of 7 million barrels per day after Riyadh expanded its use to bypass the Strait of Hormuz.
The shift has turned Yanbu into the kingdom's primary export outlet while increasing the strategic importance of the Bab el-Mandeb Strait, another critical chokepoint for global energy shipments.
Since the Houthis declared a naval blockade against Saudi Arabia on July 20, commercial shipping through the Red Sea has come under increasing pressure as the group warned shipping companies against calling at Saudi ports and threatened to target vessels that violate the blockade.
A day earlier, the Houthis reported detecting Saudi reconnaissance drones in Yemeni airspace and claimed they had shot down a Turkish-made Bayraktar Akinci unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV).
Three days after announcing the blockade, the group claimed missile and drone attacks on two Saudi oil tankers in the Red Sea, alleging the vessels had breached the restrictions.
The confrontation intensified when Saudi forces launched airstrikes on Yemen's Red Sea province of Hodeidah, with the Houthis accusing Riyadh of hitting civilian infrastructure.
The group later claimed missile and drone attacks on Saudi Aramco facilities in Yanbu and Jizan, describing those strikes as retaliation for the Hodeidah airstrikes.
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