Saudi Aramco extinguishes refinery fire as Houthis claim attack

Firefighters extinguished a blaze at a refinery belonging to Saudi Arabian oil giant Aramco early Sunday, the country’s government said. Iran-backed Houthi rebels in Yemen reportedly claimed responsibility for attacking the facility.

“The competent authorities are completing the necessary procedures to deal with the incident” at the Saudi Aramco refinery in Jazan, Saudi Arabia’s Ministry of Energy said in a statement on X, adding that no one was injured. The statement did not say what caused the fire.

Iran-backed Houthis reportedly said they carried out a drone strike on the facility.

“Yemen’s Armed Forces said they hit Saudi Arabia’s Aramco refinery in Jizan on Sunday, describing the drone strike as precise and carried out in response to Saudi drone violations of Yemeni airspace,” Iranian state-backed news agency Mehr said in a post on X.

CNBC has not independently verified the claim. The Houthis have claimed responsibility for a number of attacks on the Saudi Aramco facility since the start of the war.

In Tehran, Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said it is not currently in direct talks with the U.S.

A brief hiatus in fighting between the U.S. and Iran after a June 17 memorandum of understanding was followed by weeks of Iranian drone and missile attacks on shipping in the Strait of Hormuz and neighboring Gulf countries, and counterstrikes by the U.S. on Iranian targets.

Araghchi said Sunday that his country is not engaging in talks with the U.S., but added that “messages are being exchanged through intermediaries,” according to news agency Mehr.

Oman has been a key interlocutor, especially on the thorny issue of the Strait of Hormuz, a crucial gateway for about a fifth of the world’s energy supplies before the U.S. and Israel began attacking Iran on Feb. 28.

“Talks with Oman do not mean the Strait of Hormuz will be reopened. An agreement may be reached, but reopening the strait depends on other conditions conveyed through intermediaries,” Araghchi was quoted as saying.

The foreign minister said a day earlier that Iran and Oman, which border the waterway, were close to reaching an agreement on navigation, “specifically the determination of a transit route.”

U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent told CNBC on Tuesday that an agreement to open Hormuz with freedom of movement could come as soon as Wednesday. President Donald Trump and Secretary of State Marco Rubio had also indicated that an agreement was imminent.