Yemen's Houthi rebels launched missiles and drones at Saudi Arabia on Saturday, targeting Aramco oil facilities in Yanbu and Jizan, in retaliation for Saudi airstrikes on the Red Sea port city of Hodeida. The escalation deepens a wider crisis over shipping routes in the Middle East, coming as the Houthis threaten to close the Bab el-Mandeb Strait, a chokepoint through which around 12% of global trade passes, unless Saudi Arabia lifts its blockade on Yemen.

The exchange followed Houthi attacks on two Saudi oil tankers earlier in the week, prompting Saudi-led coalition strikes on Hodeida's port and telecoms infrastructure that reportedly injured two people; the coalition said it hit only "legitimate military targets" linked to threats against commercial vessels. Saudi Arabia reported air-raid alerts in Yanbu and Jizan but gave no further details, while Iran's foreign minister called for diplomacy over the Yemen conflict. Separately, Iran accused Ukraine of a deadly strike on an Iranian commercial vessel in the Caspian Sea, which Ukraine's president said targeted vessels involved in military cargo shipments with Iran, and Tehran reported no fresh US strikes overnight after nearly two weeks of continuous attacks.