Yemens Houthis Attack Saudi Refinery After Defense Pact With Turkey, Pakistan

Satellite imagery shows a trail of smoke rising from an oil facility in Jizan, Jazan province, Saudi Arabia, on July 26, 2026. European Union/Copernicus Sentinel-2/ReutersYemen’s Iran-backed Houthis on Aug. 9 said the group, designated as terrorists by the United States and some allies, attacked an oil refinery in Saudi Arabia, just two days after Saudi Arabia signed a defense pact with Turkey and Pakistan.Houthi military spokesperson Yahya Saree said the Iran-aligned group launched a drone attack on the Saudi Aramco refinery, claiming it was in response to Saudi drones breaching airspace over Yemen’s Saada and Hajjah provinces in the country’s northwest. Both are largely under Houthi control.Saudi Arabia’s Energy Ministry said a fire broke out at a Saudi Aramco refinery facility in Jazan on Aug. 9, with no injuries reported. The ministry did not specify what caused the fire.“The competent authorities are completing the necessary procedures to deal with the incident,” the ministry said in a post on X, without elaborating.Saudi Arabia signed a defense agreement with Turkey and Pakistan on Aug. 7, which stipulates that an attack on any one of the three countries would be considered an attack on all three.Saudi Deputy Minister for Public Diplomacy Rayed Krimly said the defense pact would enable the trio of powers to “develop joint defense capabilities, strengthen strategic deterrence, enhance readiness, and further develop and integrate their respective defense capabilities to jointly address any threats to their safety and security.”The three nations are known for their strong militaries, with Saudi Arabia having the largest military in the Arabian Gulf, Turkey having the second-largest army in NATO after the United States, and Pakistan being the only nuclear-armed Muslim nation.It remains unclear whether the recent Houthi attack would activate the three nations’ defense pact.In another statement on Aug. 9, Saree said the Houthis also launched ballistic missiles and drones at al-Makha, a Yemeni Red Sea port city, targeting Saudi military mobilizations and a weapons depot in the area.The port city is under the control of Yemen’s internationally recognized, Saudi-backed government.The Yemeni military said in a statement on Aug. 10 that the Houthi attack on the port killed seven people and injured 30 others, most of whom were civilians.It said the attack targeted military sites, civilian infrastructure, residences, power plants, and other civilian sites in the area. The Yemeni army denounced the strikes as a violation of international law.Last month, the Iranian -backed Houthis announced a blockade of Saudi Arabian shipping through the Red Sea.The Red Sea, which can be entered via Egypt through the Suez Canal, is a vital global shipping lane that has become even more important due to Iran’s attacking of commercial vessels in the neighboring Strait of Hormuz, disrupting oil and gas shipments from Gulf countries.Guy Birchall contributed to this report.