Houthis Claim Missile Strike on Saudi's Jizan City
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- Houthis claimed a 'Yemeni missile strike' caused fires in Saudi Arabia's Jizan city; Saudi authorities issued emergency alerts for the province and did not immediately respond to the claim.
- Saudi Arabia struck Houthi targets in Yemen's Hodeida port and Kamaran island on Friday, prompting the Houthis' Ansarollah media to post that 'these recent crimes will not go unanswered.'
- The reported overnight lull marked the first night in two weeks without US or Iranian air strikes in the wider region, though Iran has launched drone strikes on US military facilities across the Middle East during that span.
- An Omani delegation arrived in Tehran for Strait of Hormuz talks, per Iran's state-run IRNA agency; Oman controls the strait's southern coastline.
- The US Navy disabled a second commercial tanker in the Gulf of Oman after its crew tried to run the blockade on Iranian ports at least four times, firing into its engine room per Navy Captain Tim Hawkins.
- Brent crude fell more than US$4 to just over $96 a barrel Friday after two Chinese-chartered supertankers transited the Bab el-Mandeb Strait, reversing an earlier push above $100 driven by Houthi shipping threats.
- The US and UK are set to hold a conference in London next week on the Strait of Hormuz, with US Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth and Joint Chiefs Chairman Dan Caine reportedly attending, per the BBC and Axios.
Why it matters: The Houthi-Saud missile exchange adds a fresh front to Red Sea shipping disruption on top of the US-Iran conflict, with Brent crude swinging from above $100 to about $96 in a single Friday session as Chinese-chartered supertankers successfully ran the strait — showing how thin the margin is between an oil shock and a reversal.
