Houthi strikes on Saudi Arabia escalate as Riyadh suspends Yanbu oil exports and presses the UN

Houthi attacks on Saudi cities and oil infrastructure have prompted Riyadh to suspend crude exports from Yanbu while its UN envoy urged the Security Council to respond firmly.

• Saudi civil defense declared the danger over for Mecca, Taif and Jeddah shortly after issuing alerts for those cities.
• Saudi Arabia suspended crude loading at Yanbu, the world's largest oil export port, days after closing the East–West pipeline, shipping sources told Reuters.
• Saudi UN ambassador Abdulaziz al-Wasil called on the Security Council to adopt a firm stance against what he said was the Houthi militarization of international straits.
• Yemeni Prime Minister Shaye al-Zandani said the Houthi escalation, backed by Iran, had become a threat to regional security rather than an internal military matter.
• Pakistan's UN envoy Asim Iftikhar Ahmad condemned the attacks on Saudi Arabia and reaffirmed its right to self-defense under the UN Charter.
• An analysis documented 16 Houthi strikes on Saudi energy infrastructure between July 13 and August 14, targeting oil export routes, refineries and tankers.
• The Acled data project recorded strikes on seven oil facilities and six tankers, including the Buqyaq facility that handles 7% of global oil supply.