By Lyn Neeley
July 30, 2026

Ansarullah’s Yemeni drones and missiles struck strategic oil facilities at two Saudi Arabian ports on the Red Sea on July 25, the Yanbu, a main port for Saudi oil export, and the Jizan refinery, which was set on fire.

The strikes were retaliation for the Saudi-led attack on western Yemen on July 24 which targeted Yemeni telecommunication facilities and civilian areas near the Bab al-Mandab Strait, which connects the Indian Ocean to the Red Sea and leads to the Suez Canal.

 

Saudi Arabia spent months diverting oil through the desert to the Jizan and Yanbu Aramco oil facilities on the Red Sea following Iran’s blockade of the Strait of Hormuz. From there, they plan to export oil north to the Suez Canal or south past Yemen, through the Bab al-Mandeb Strait.

However, Ansarullah threatens to continue attacking both facilities unless Saudi Arabia reopens roads across Yemen and lifts restrictions at Yemen’s Sana’a International Airport.

On July 20, Ansarullah announced a naval blockade of all Saudi-related vessels in the Red Sea. They closed the Bab al-Mandab Strait. Together with the blockade at the Strait of Hormuz, Saudi oil exports have nowhere else to go.

Two days after the blockade, Saudi vessels violated the embargo. Yemeni missiles struck two of the tankers, and 10 others turned back.

The blockade followed attacks on Sana’a airport on July 13 by Saudi proxies in Yemen. The strike was meant to prevent the landing of an Iranian delegation returning from the funeral of Iran’s Ayatollah Ali Khamenei at the Ansarullah-controlled airport. Yemeni air defenses forced Saudi warplanes to stop the attacks.

Ansarullah can stop ships from traveling between Europe and Asia at the Bab al-Mandab Strait. The strait is a critical passageway for 10% to 14% of global shipping, especially oil and gas. It is less than 20 miles wide. Yemen’s Red Sea coastal mountains at the strait have numerous caves, tunnels and hiding places to store weapons that can be utilized quickly to attack shipping.

Between 2023 and 2025, Ansarullah, in support of the Palestinians in Gaza, attacked Israeli-linked shipping in the Red Sea as well as U.S. and British warships. On April 22, Somalia’s government announced that it would also ban Israeli-linked ships from traveling through the Bab al-Mandab Strait.

Thousands of Yemenis protest escalating U.S. attacks on Iran

Tens of thousands of Yemenis demonstrated on July 23 in Sana’a and 14 provinces in their country, protesting the escalating U.S. strikes on Iran. The protests were also a direct response to overnight Saudi airstrikes — a violation of Yemen’s sovereignty — and the strike on the Sana’a airport.

China Global Television Network (CGTN) reported, “These rallies also signal that the region may be entering a new phase, one that could reshape not only Iran’s role but also that of its allies and the broader balance of power in the Middle East.” (cgtn.com, July 11)