Houthi missile hits Aramco headquarters building in Dhahran; debris injures four in Riyadh
A Houthi missile struck an administrative building at Saudi Aramco’s headquarters complex in Dhahran overnight, causing a limited fire, Saudi authorities said. Falling debris from intercepted missiles injured four people in Riyadh as the Houthis vowed more attacks on Saudi airports and oil sites.
What happened: Yemen’s Iran-backed Houthis struck an Aramco administrative building in Dhahran overnight into Wednesday, the BBC and Al Jazeera reported. Saudi Arabia’s energy ministry said the attack caused a “limited fire” in an administrative building at Aramco’s headquarters complex and reported no injuries there, according to the BBC. Sources told Reuters that a ballistic missile hit an office tower in the complex, with a fire spreading between the sixth and 10th floors; one Aramco employee told AFP the “top three floors have gone,” the BBC reported.
Riyadh and other intercepts: Saudi authorities said several missiles and drones were intercepted elsewhere. Debris from two intercepted cruise missiles injured two women, a man and a child in Riyadh and caused limited damage to 15 homes, Saudi Civil Defence said, according to the BBC and Al Jazeera. Coalition spokesman Maj. Gen. Turki al-Maliki said forces also intercepted missiles and drones toward Riyadh, al-Kharj, Haradh and the country’s south, the BBC reported. Al Jazeera said Maliki announced on Wednesday that a ballistic missile launched toward Riyadh had been intercepted and destroyed.
What the Houthis claimed: Houthi military spokesman Yahya Sarea said Wednesday that the group had targeted Aramco’s headquarters in Dhahran, an Aramco refinery in Riyadh and King Khalid International Airport with ballistic missiles, cruise missiles and drones, the BBC and Al Jazeera reported. “Operations towards Saudi depths will continue in the coming days, targeting Saudi enemy airports and oil facilities,” Sarea said, according to the BBC.
The exchange: The Houthis said the strikes were in response to a Saudi-led coalition attack Tuesday on the Yemen Petroleum Company’s al-Sabaha fuel depot near Sanaa and facilities at Ras Isa on the Red Sea coast, the BBC reported. Houthi-run media said two civilians were killed and two injured in the Ras Isa attack. Maliki said the coalition targeted those sites because they supported Houthi military operations, according to the BBC.
Context: The Saudi cabinet, chaired by Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, vowed Tuesday that the Houthis would “bear the consequences” of recent attacks, including a weekend missile strike on Riyadh’s airport that killed people and wounded hundreds, the BBC reported. President Donald Trump said on Truth Social that the Houthis were “behaving very badly… and purposefully trying to drive up Oil Prices,” and told reporters he “might” ask Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan to intervene, according to the BBC. IMF Managing Director Kristalina Georgieva said the escalating conflict could have “potentially negative spillovers for everybody, everywhere,” the BBC reported.
What’s next: The Houthis have threatened further strikes on Saudi airports and oil infrastructure. U.S. officials have discussed possible American involvement against the Houthis as energy-supply risks rise, CBS News reported in live updates Wednesday night into Thursday morning.