Houthis strike Saudi Aramco facilities as Brent crude hits $100, crypto pulls back

Yemen’s Houthi movement claimed responsibility for missile strikes targeting Saudi Aramco facilities in Jizan and Yanbu on July 25, 2026. The attacks mark the first direct strike on a Saudi refinery complex in four years, and the timing could hardly be more combustible.

Brent crude surged to $100 per barrel in the immediate aftermath, a roughly 40% climb over the course of July 2026 alone, before pulling back to stabilize in the $89 to $90 range.

A coordinated pressure campaign, not a one-off strike

The refinery attacks did not come out of nowhere. On July 20, the Houthis announced a naval blockade targeting Saudi shipping. Two days later, on July 22, the group claimed attacks on two Saudi oil tankers in the Red Sea, the Encelia and the Layla.

The Bab el-Mandeb Strait sits at the southern end of the Red Sea and connects it to the Gulf of Aden. Roughly 10% of global seaborne trade passes through it.

The Houthis have demonstrated before that they can make shipping through this corridor expensive, unpredictable, and in some cases impossible. Their drone and missile campaign against commercial vessels beginning in late 2023 forced major shipping lines to reroute around the Cape of Good Hope, adding weeks and significant cost to global supply chains.

No casualties from the July 25 strikes have been confirmed. The physical damage to Aramco infrastructure has not been publicly detailed either.

Crypto catches the risk-off flu

Bitcoin and XRP both saw price declines following the attacks and the broader surge in regional volatility.

The Houthis have a documented history of using cryptocurrency to finance operations and circumvent sanctions. No specific tokens have been directly linked to the July 2026 campaign in available reporting, but the broader pattern is established. The U.S. Treasury and allied regulators have previously flagged crypto-based fundraising networks tied to the group.

What investors should watch from here

The stabilization of Brent in the $89 to $90 range after the $100 spike suggests markets are not yet pricing in a full supply disruption.

Yanbu sits on the Red Sea coast and is one of Saudi Arabia’s largest refinery and petrochemical hubs. Jizan is further south, closer to the Yemeni border, and its refinery serves both domestic demand and export flows. Strikes on both in a single claimed operation signal that the Houthis are targeting infrastructure diversity, not just symbolic value.

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