Al-Alimi was unlikely to have made the announcement without the green light from Saudi Arabia, which remains the key backer of his government.

Saudi Arabia has been under constant attack as the Houthis try to target the country’s economic lifeblood – oil.

On Sunday, Yemen’s Houthi military spokesman Yahya Saree said the group had launched a ballistic missile and drone attack on Aramco sites in the capital, Riyadh, and the oil-rich Khurais area in the kingdom’s east.

“Both operations successfully achieved their objectives,” the spokesman said in a statement. “The strikes were precise, causing large fires at the targeted sites.”

It is not the first time the group has said it has hit Saudi oil sites. Saudi Arabia has yet to comment on Sunday’s claimed attack, but has previously dismissed some claims as misleading, mocking the Houthis for “chasing imaginary victories”.

But it has once again shown the price Saudi Arabia – and, as a consequence, the global economy – could pay if it launched a new all-out war against the Houthis.

In retaliation, Saudi Arabia has also been striking Houthi targets, according to the Houthi-run Al-Masirah TV channel. It said at least two people had been wounded in strikes on Sunday.

On Saturday, Yemen’s government also said its forces had hit Houthi targets across the country, including in Sanaa, Saada and the group’s positions near Taiz in the south-west.