Yemen’s Houthi rebels announced that they conducted a drone attack against an oil facility belonging to Aramco in the southwestern Saudi city of Jazan. Yahya Saree, a military spokesperson for the group, stated that the operation was carried out in retaliation for Saudi drones allegedly breaching Yemeni airspace over the provinces of Saada and Hajjah.
Early on Sunday, the Saudi Energy Ministry confirmed that a fire had broken out at an Aramco refinery facility. The ministry reported that the blaze was successfully extinguished and stated that there were no casualties resulting from the incident, although it did not provide specific details regarding the cause of the fire.
In broader regional developments, Mohammad Bagher Zolghadr, a secretary and commander in Iran’s Revolutionary Guard, issued a statement via Iranian state media. The message demanded that the United States cease threatening Iran and permanently end the conflict involving Iran and its armed regional allies. The statement further called for the U.S. to lift the naval blockade of Iranian ports, withdraw military forces from the region, release frozen assets unconditionally, lift sanctions, and provide full compensation for war damages.
Meanwhile, the U.S. military is working to bolster its munitions supplies. Pentagon spokesman Sean Parnell stated that the department is focused on accelerating acquisitions to ensure warfighters have necessary weaponry at a pace demanded by current threats. This effort is part of a modernization plan that was initiated prior to the ongoing five-month conflict. A new analysis from the Center for Strategic and International Studies indicates that the war with Iran has significantly depleted U.S. stockpiles of advanced missile interceptors.
Discussions regarding the Strait of Hormuz—a vital global waterway for oil and natural gas transit—remain ongoing. The current negotiations seek to restore a prior agreement between the U.S. and Iran, potentially restarting a 60-day window for further talks regarding Iran’s nuclear program. Under the current interim arrangement, ships have been able to cross the strait without paying tolls or fees.
