Updated on: Sep 9, 2026, 11:57:34 IST By Rezaul H Laskar Prefer HTon Google Share via Copy link India on Wednesday condemned attacks by Yemen’s Houthi rebels on energy facilities in Saudi Arabia, saying such strikes undermine regional security and threaten freedom of navigation in the Bab-el-Mandeb strait.
Yemen's Iran-backed Houthis and Saudi-backed, internationally recognised government forces have been fighting for days over control of Bab al-Mandab on the Red Sea. (AFP) The comments by external affairs ministry spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal were the first official response from the Indian side since the Houthis said on Tuesday they targeted energy facilities belonging to oil giant Saudi Aramco in southern Saudi Arabia as part of a “broad operation”.
Saudi authorities said the strikes triggered fires at multiple oil installations and utility sites and injured 73 people.
Referring to the Houthi attacks in Saudi Arabia, Jaiswal said India “condemned the attacks on Saudi sovereign territory, especially the targeting of civilian and economic facilities”.
Southern Saudi Arabia hosts crucial energy infrastructure, including the Jizan refinery with the capacity to process 400,000 barrels of crude a day.
The importance of the Bab-el-Mandeb has grown for Saudi energy exports following Iran’s closure of the Strait of Hormuz.
Despite India’s increased purchases of Russian oil, Saudi Arabia remains among the country’s top three energy suppliers.
Fighting between the Iran-aligned Houthis and pro-Saudi forces in Yemen has sharply escalated in recent days, with the hostilities seen as the most serious since a UN-brokered ceasefire halted widespread fighting in 2022, after eight years of full-blown conflict.
For the Houthis, a key focus has been the Bab al-Mandeb, a narrow waterway connecting the Red Sea to the Gulf of Aden.
The Houthis announced a blockade of Saudi shipping in July, and began a push towards government-held areas near the Bab al-Mandeb.
Iran’s closure of the Strait of Hormuz has forced Saudi Arabia to rely more on the Red Sea export route.
Between March and July, Saudi seaborne crude exports through the Bab al-Mandeb were eight times higher than during the same period in 2025.
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