Houthis Attack Saudi Airport and Aramco Facilities

The Houthi rebel group in Yemen has claimed it launched drone attacks against an airport and facilities belonging to Saudi Arabia’s state oil giant Aramco in the Najran region of southern Saudi Arabia, near the Yemeni border. The group ‘successfully carried out two military operations using drones: the first targeted sensitive Saudi enemy sites at Najran Airport, while the second targeted Aramco facilities in Najran,’ Houthi military spokesman Yahya Saree said in a statement on Telegram, as reported by AFP on Friday (21/8/2026).

A day earlier, on Thursday (20/8), Iran’s Revolutionary Guard had warned that Saudi Arabia ‘would not be able to withstand’ the Houthis as the Iran-backed group escalated its attacks against the kingdom. Yemen, which has been embroiled in civil conflict for more than a decade, became the latest country drawn into the Middle East war in July when the Houthis abandoned the 2022 ceasefire with the Saudi-backed Yemeni government.

This week, a Yemeni minister told AFP that the Houthis were planning to seize territory along the Bab al-Mandab Strait, which would enable them to further threaten the vital shipping lane. Three Houthi military sources, as well as a spokesman for Yemeni government forces, also told AFP that the rebels planned to advance southwards from their current positions.

The conflict reignited last month when the Houthis received Iranian aircraft in the Yemeni capital Sanaa, triggering a series of retaliatory strikes from Saudi Arabia. The Houthis subsequently announced a maritime blockade against Saudi Arabia and began attacking the kingdom’s ships, airports and oil facilities.