The oil’s on fire. Again.

Dozens of Saudis, including women and children, were injured Tuesday in what Houthi spokesman Yahya Saree described as “precise and direct” attacks on Aramco infrastructure in Abha, Jazan, Khamis Mushait and Najran.

The missiles and drones “caused significant damage,” said the excitable Saree, who was suspended from Elon Musk’s “X” last month without explanation.

In a statement carried by Saree’s new account, he blamed recent Saudi airstrikes on Yemen for the escalation. I include the video, below, for entertainment purposes.

As I put it in July, while editorializing around another of Saree’s SNL-style public service announcements, it’s very difficult to watch that without chuckling, serious though the situation most assuredly is.

The Kingdom “launched a brutal and unjust aggression against our people,” Saree said, apparently referring to the bombing of a prison facility near the countries’ shared border. Several people were killed in that incident, which Saree on Monday described as a “massacre.”

Air strikes on prisons are an especially sensitive issue for the Houthis. Some 200 people were killed in a pair of Saudi coalition attacks on detention facilities in 2022 and 2019. In the same Monday remarks, Saree claimed the Houthis shot down several Saudi reconnaissance drones.

Clashes between the Houthis and forces loyal to Yemen’s internationally-recognized government have intensified in recent days and weeks. Indeed, Saudi-backed government fighters have designs on reclaiming the capital, which, you’re reminded, is a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

The Houthis are determined to foil that plan. Tuesday’s cross-border attacks need to be viewed through that lens. This isn’t just about aiding and abetting Iran’s war of attrition with Donald Trump. The Houthis are out to punish the Saudis for funneling weapons and other supplies to advancing government forces, which enjoy air cover from Saudi warplanes.

Saree on Tuesday warned that the Houthis won’t “hesitate to launch even stronger and wider strikes” against Aramco facilities. The Saudis halted operations at several sites to put out fires and conduct damage assessments.

Tuesday marks the fourth time Jazan’s been hit since the Houthis announced a blockade on Saudi oil tankers in the Red Sea over the summer. The site includes a 400,000/bbl per day refinery, among the largest in the Kingdom.

The Saudis on Tuesday seemed keen to play down the prospect of a return to all-out, open war with the Houthis. MBS’s foreign minister, Prince Faisal, called the Houthis “selfish” in restrained remarks delivered at a joint press-conference in Moscow, where he’s meeting with Sergei Lavrov.

“The Houthis choose to prioritize their narrow interests over the interests of Yemen and resort to violence,” the prince said. “The Kingdom will not hesitate to protect its interests.”

The notoriously deadpan Lavrov described Tuesday’s events as “counterproductive.”

Brent came within 70 cents of triple-digits.