Two people were killed after an oil company in Yemen’s Red Sea province of Hodeidah came under attack, the Houthi-run health ministry said, accusing Saudi Arabia of carrying out the strike.
Saudi officials did not immediately confirm the allegation.
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Earlier, Houthi media reported that Saudi Arabia had targeted an oil facility near Sanaa after the Saudi-led coalition instructed civilians to leave the area.
An AFP correspondent in Sanaa said an explosion was heard. Al-Masirah TV, the Houthis’ broadcaster, issued a breaking-news alert saying: “Saudi aggression targets the oil company in Al-Sabaha, west of Sanaa”.
After the evacuation warning, large numbers of civilians hurried to fuel stations across Sanaa, with many fearing that supplies could soon run short, AFP’s correspondent reported.
The Yemen Petroleum Company, however, moved to calm those concerns, saying it had put all necessary emergency measures in place to “meet people’s needs”.
“Al-Sabaha facilities currently do not contain any stock of petroleum products, and therefore, targeting them will not affect fuel stock or supply chains,” the YPC said in a statement.
It said fuel reserves for public consumption were being held at “safe facilities and locations” in quantities sufficient to meet demand for extended periods.
The Iran-backed Houthis have been fighting Yemen’s Saudi-supported government since 2014, in a civil war that has intensified during the United States’ eight-month war with Iran.
In recent weeks, the group has stepped up attacks on commercial vessels moving through the Red Sea and the strategically important Bab al-Mandab Strait.
The Houthis have also launched strikes on Riyadh’s King Khalid International Airport in recent days, killing 13 people, injuring more than 300 and shutting down airspace over the Saudi capital.
Before the latest attacks, the group warned that any strikes on Sanaa would draw a “harsh and painful” response. Its spokesperson, Yahya Saree, said possible targets included Saudi Aramco’s headquarters in Dhahran and an oil refinery in Riyadh.
Trump says Houthis ‘behaving badly’
The Saudi cabinet, meeting under the leadership of Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, pledged that it would not tolerate threats to the kingdom’s security or to shipping routes in the Red Sea.
In a statement carried by the official SPA news agency, the cabinet said Saudi Arabia “will not allow its security or freedom of navigation in the Red Sea and Bab al-Mandab Strait to be threatened”.
It warned that the Iran-backed Houthis “will face the consequences of their crimes and repeated attacks” against Saudi airports, holy cities and economic sites after a series of deadly strikes on the kingdom.
US President Donald Trump said Houthi militants were “behaving very badly” as the repercussions of the US-Iran war spread across the wider Middle East.
Speaking to reporters, Mr Trump said he “might” ask Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan to intervene in support of Saudi interests.
“President Erdogan, I think, would do as I ask,” Mr Trump said.
Mr Erdogan said Turkey would stand with Saudi Arabia, according to the Turkish presidency, but gave no details about any new form of assistance.
Turkey and Pakistan signed a mutual defence agreement with Saudi Arabia this summer, although the treaty still requires ratification by Turkey’s parliament.
