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Hodeida, Yanbu, Jizan
Yemen’s Iran-backed Houthis vowed a response to Saudi strikes on the port city of Hodeida, with DW reporting that the strikes hit civilian infrastructure and injured two people.
DW said Saudi Arabia told it would do everything necessary to protect its shipping amid a Houthi-enforced maritime blockade in the Red Sea, as the conflict threatens to worsen global economic fallout.
In the same escalation, the Houthis claimed missile and drone attacks on Saudi oil facilities in the Red Sea towns of Yanbu and Jazan, with The Washington Post citing a video statement by Houthi military spokesperson Yahya Saree.
The Detroit News reported that Houthis fired on Saudi oil installations in two ports on the Red Sea coast on Saturday, while the U.S. held back from launching air strikes on Iran for the first night in two weeks.
Reuters-linked reporting in DW added that a Greek military-operated air defense system intercepted two ballistic missiles launched from Yemen targeting oil refineries in Yanbu on Saturday.
Threats, diplomacy, and claims
The BBC reported that the Houthis’ Ansarollah media said on Telegram that a "Yemeni missile strike" caused fires in the Saudi city of Jizan, after Riyadh launched strikes on targets linked to the group on Friday.
In Washington, Trump told reporters: "We are talking to them. I think they're being serious," while also saying Tehran was not yet ready for a deal, as the BBC described a lull with no overnight reports of U.S. or Iran air strikes for the first time in two weeks.
The Detroit News said a senior U.S. official told Reuters that Trump "has always been clear that his preference is diplomacy" but that he had shown Iran what would happen if it failed to come to the table.
The Washington Post described Saree’s claim that the Houthis struck facilities belonging to Aramco in Yanbu and Jazan, framing the attacks as the first such strikes since 2022.
DW also reported that Greek security sources said the interception was the second time Greek military personnel had operated the system since 2021.
What comes next for shipping
The BBC said growing concern over new threats to shipping in the Red Sea from Yemen’s Houthis helped push the price of crude oil back over $100 a barrel this week, while it dropped again on Friday afternoon.
The Guardian reported that the Houthis declared a naval blockade of Saudi Arabia in the Red Sea last week after the kingdom struck the airport in Sana’a, and that the blockade threatens to upend global energy markets.
In Yemen’s wider war, The Detroit News said the fighting between Iran’s Houthi allies and Saudi Arabia was a sign the conflict could be spreading to a second major shipping route, reigniting Yemen’s own civil war.
DW described Saudi Arabia’s position that it would protect its shipping amid the Houthi-enforced maritime blockade, while also noting the disruption of shipping in the Red Sea could worsen global economic fallout.
The Guardian added that the U.S. fired on a merchant vessel in the Gulf of Oman for violating its blockade of Iranian ports, as the region’s maritime chokepoints continued to drive escalation risk.
