Yemen’s Houthi movement claimed responsibility for missile strikes targeting Saudi Aramco facilities in Jizan and Yanbu on July 25, 2026. The attacks mark the first direct strike on a Saudi refinery complex in four years, and the timing could hardly be more combustible.
Brent crude surged to $100 per barrel in the immediate aftermath, a roughly 40% climb over the course of July 2026 alone, before pulling back to stabilize in the $89 to $90 range.
A coordinated pressure campaign, not a one-off strike
The refinery attacks did not come out of nowhere. On July 20, the Houthis announced a naval blockade targeting Saudi shipping. Two days later, on July 22, the group claimed attacks on two Saudi oil tankers in the Red Sea, the Encelia and the Layla.
The Bab el-Mandeb Strait sits at the southern end of the Red Sea and connects it to the Gulf of Aden. Roughly 10% of global seaborne trade passes through it.
