Yemen’s Iran-backed Houthis said on Tuesday that they had attacked an airport in Saudi Arabia, as tensions between the two foes brewed after the rebels declared a maritime blockade on Riyadh and struck its ships.
Houthi military spokesman Yahya Saree said they “successfully targeted a sensitive target belonging to the Saudi enemy at Najran Airport using a drone,” adding that the strike on the southern airport was “in response to the Saudi enemy’s violation of airspace over the Saada and Hajjah governorates using drones”.
Meanwhile, the chief executive of Saudi Arabia’s state oil firm said that attacks by Yemen’s Houthi rebels had no real effect on the oil giant’s production.
Strikes by the Iran-backed group had “no material impact on our capabilities”, Aramco president and CEO Amin H. Nasser said during a call with reporters, adding that they included Houthi attacks in July which targeted the company’s operations on the Red Sea coast and elsewhere.
Earlier, Saudi Aramco said its net profit rose 44 per cent in the second quarter year-on-year as the Middle East war pushed oil and gas prices higher.
Aramco, majority-owned by the state, reported net income of 122.6 billion Saudi riyals ($32.7 billion) from April to June, up from 85 billion riyals ($22.67 billion) in 2025.
Meanwhile, mediating nation Qatar said on Tuesday efforts for a diplomatic solution between the United States and Iran were ongoing but that there were no direct talks between the sides planned.
“We can confirm that the efforts are still ongoing with all parties,” Foreign Ministry spokesman Majed Al Ansari told reporters, adding that negotiations were focused on “a short-term resolution that would help us reignite the talks and go back to the mediation efforts in its totality”. (AFP)
