Houthis Target Aramco and the East-West Oil Pipeline.. Security Council Extends Sanctions

Major General Turki Al-Maliki, spokesman for the Saudi-led Arab Coalition, announced the interception of drones suspected of being Houthi over the Riyadh region and the Eastern Province, in a statement carried by the Saudi Press Agency.

On the other side, Houthi military spokesman Yahya Saree confirmed that his forces targeted a pumping station on the East-West oil pipeline with a drone, and struck the Yanbu oil facility on the Red Sea. Saree added that a military cargo plane at Sharurah airport, near the Yemeni border, was hit in a drone attack, as well as by a ballistic missile described as "the latest direct hit" on Khamis Mushait air base. The Houthis also claimed to have targeted the headquarters of Saudi Aramco in Riyadh, while rejecting what they described as "an outright lie" in the Saudi claim that they targeted the Mecca region on Wednesday.

Saudi Arabia pumps about 4 million barrels of oil per day through the East-West oil pipeline to Yanbu, equivalent to roughly 4 percent of global supply.

On the ground, the Yemeni Ministry of Defense, citing the Saudi-backed Presidential Leadership Council and the official Saba agency, affirmed that the battle against the Houthis is progressing toward "its set objectives." A meeting was held in Marib governorate to discuss ongoing operations and ways to strengthen coordination among the military units taking part in the "Dawn of Yemen" offensive.

On the humanitarian front, the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) reported that more than 333,000 people have been displaced in Yemen since the beginning of August, including more than 24,000 during the past week alone. The office noted that civilians continue to pay "a heavy price because of the violence," pointing out that this violence damages health facilities, displaces families and hampers the work of humanitarian workers.

In New York, the UN Security Council voted unanimously to extend the sanctions imposed on Yemen for an additional year, including an asset freeze and a travel ban, along with extending the mandate of the UN panel of experts on Yemen. The Council demanded that "all parties refrain from escalatory measures and settle their differences through negotiation," and the resolution condemned the military escalation by the Houthis and their naval and cross-border attacks, and also condemned their threats against commercial ships bound for Saudi Arabia. The resolution stressed that humanitarian aid is exempt from the scope of the sanctions.

China's ambassador to the United Nations, Fu Cong, said that "sanctions are merely a means, not an end in themselves," expressing hope that "the situation in Yemen will calm down as soon as possible." Riyadh is also pressing the European Union to adopt a decision classifying the Houthi movement (Ansar Allah) as a terrorist organization, according to Reuters. However, European officials have voiced reservations that such a designation could hinder any future peace track. EU foreign policy spokesman Anouar El Anouni said the bloc is in regular contact with Riyadh about regional developments, without commenting specifically on any ongoing discussions.