Houthis attack Saudi refinery as Iran demands US capitulation to reopen Strait

Yemen's Tehran-aligned Houthis claimed responsibility for an attack on a refinery in Saudi Arabia on Sunday, two days after the kingdom signed a defence pact with Turkey and Pakistan aimed at strengthening collective deterrence in the region.

The strike came as Iran escalated pressure on the United States, with its supreme national security council declaring that the Strait of Hormuz would remain closed until Washington met a series of demands. According to Iran's national security council secretary Mohammad Bagher Zolghadr, the US must correct its "behaviour" and permanently end the war with Tehran and its armed allies in the region.

Iran's conditions for reopening the waterway include ending a naval blockade of Iranian ports, withdrawing military forces from the area, providing complete compensation for war damage, lifting sanctions and unconditionally releasing frozen assets. The Iranian foreign minister, Abbas Araghchi, said Iran and Oman were close to reaching an agreement on a transit route through the strait, but reopening remained contingent on other conditions being met.

The US and Iran signed a memorandum of understanding in June that includes a timetable to end sanctions and a plan for compensation, though negotiations on frozen assets remain unresolved. There was no immediate US response to Iran's latest demands.

The regional defence pact

Saudi Arabia's defence agreement with Pakistan and Turkey empowers the three signatory states to treat an attack against one of them as an attack against all. Kuwait's Foreign Minister felicitated Pakistan on what is known as the Makkah Joint Defence Agreement.

Iran's foreign ministry characterised the pact as "a sign of a change in the perception" of regional countries towards the United States, suggesting it reflects shifting geopolitical alignments amid broader regional tensions.

Escalating violence in Yemen

Separately, Houthi forces launched fresh attacks on Yemen's Red Sea port city of Mocha on Sunday evening, killing at least seven people and wounding 30 others, according to Yemen's armed forces. The military said four military personnel and three civilians were killed in the assault, with most of the wounded being civilians.

Houthi military spokesman Yahya Saree said the operation targeted Saudi troop concentrations and weapon depots in the area. Yemen's air defences intercepted and shot down 11 drones involved in the attack, while two ballistic missiles fell into the sea without hitting their targets.