Yemen's Houthis claim attack on Aramco oil facility in Saudi Arabia, and other Middle East news

People walk in Tehran's traditional main bazaar, Iran, Saturday, Aug. 8, 2026. Vahid Salemi/AP hide caption

Yemen's Houthis said they attacked an oil facility Sunday in southwestern Saudi Arabia, the latest attack by the Iranian-backed rebels on the kingdom.

Meanwhile, Iran has made new demands about the restart of negotiations and the reopening of the Strait of Hormuz, and the Pentagon is pressing the U.S. defense industry to accelerate production of weapons.

Yahya Saree, a military spokesperson for the Houthis, said they targeted an Aramco refinery in the city of Jazan with a drone. The attack was in response to Saudi drones' breaching Yemen's airspace over the provinces of Hajjah and Saada, he said.

Early on Sunday, the Saudi Energy Ministry reported a fire at a facility belonging to the Aramco refinery without casualties. The ministry said the fire was extinguished but it didn't describe its cause.

Sunday's Houthi attack is the latest in a series of missile and drone attacks that targeted Saudi Arabia and its shipping in the Red Sea.

A Yemeni government official said Sunday that the Houthis also attacked a crucial port on the Red Sea.

Fayed al-Noman, assistant undersecretary of the information ministry, said the Houthis fired missiles and drones on the Mocha port. It's one of the main ports under Yemen's internationally recognized government, renovated in recent years to handle shipping that avoids the Houthi-held ports in Hodeida.