Houthi missile hits Aramco building after Saudi-led coalition strike on Yemen fuel depot

ByDavid Gritten and Angus Thompson. Updated 2 hours ago.

Key points

• More than 216, 000 individuals have additionally been displaced nationwide, and suspected cholera cases have tripled in three weeks, rising from 217 to 647, according to the UN.
• The Houthis remarked they targeted Aramco and Riyadh's airport in response to the coalition's strike on the Yemen Petroleum Company's al-Sabaha facility on Tuesday.
• When the Houthis ousted the internationally-recognised administration from Sanaa, yemen has been devastated by a civil war that began in 2014.
• US President Donald Trump remarked on Truth Social on Tuesday the Houthis were behaving very badly.
• The General Directorate of Civil Defence remarked two women, a man and a child were injured by debris from two intercepted cruise missiles in Riyadh.

After a Saudi-led coalition struck a fuel depot near the Yemeni capital, Sanaa, a missile introduced by Yemen's Houthi movement hit a building owned by Saudi Arabia's state oil business Aramco in the eastern city of Dhahran overnight.

Notably, the Saudi energy ministry remarked the Houthi attack caused a "limited fire" in an administrative building at Aramco's headquarters complex.

Saudi authorities documented that a number of missiles and drones were intercepted elsewhere, and that falling debris injured four individuals in the capital, Riyadh.

Notably, the Houthis remarked they targeted Aramco and Riyadh's airport in response to the coalition's strike on the Yemen Petroleum Company's al-Sabaha facility on Tuesday.

Notably, the Iran-backed group additionally cautioned that there would be further attacks over the next few days.

International Monetary Fund director Kristalina Georgieva remarked the escalating conflict could have "potentially negative spillovers for everybody, everywhere".

In practice, the Saudi cabinet, chaired by Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, vowed on Tuesday that the Houthis would "bear the consequences" of their recent attacks on the kingdom, including a missile strike on Riyadh's airport on Saturday that killed 13 individuals.

Meanwhile, the Houthis have remarked they are targeting airports, oil and gas facilities, and military bases in Saudi Arabia in retaliation for deadly Saudi air strikes on territory that they control in western Yemen, including Sanaa.

In practice, the Saudi-led coalition has been providing air backing for Yemeni pro-government forces mounting an offensive against the Houthis on Yemen's Red Sea coast and other front lines.

On Tuesday evening, coalition spokesman Maj Gen Turki al-Maliki remarked its forces intercepted and destroyed a ballistic missile rolled out by the Houthis towards Dhahran, but that debris fell in a residential area.

Afterwards, the Saudi energy ministry stated an Aramco building in the city was targeted, causing a "limited fire" but no injuries.

Sources with knowledge of the incident informed Reuters news agency that a ballistic missile hit an office tower in the company's headquarters complex, causing extensive damage and a fire that spread between the sixth and 10th floors.

" top three floors have gone, " one Aramco employee was quoted as saying by AFP news agency.

As well as the country's south on Tuesday and Wednesday morning, maliki remarked the coalition additionally intercepted missiles and drones introduced towards Riyadh, al-Kharj and Haradh.

Notably, the General Directorate of Civil Defence remarked two women, a man and a child were injured by debris from two intercepted cruise missiles in Riyadh. It additionally caused "limited material damage" to 15 homes in the city.

For context, the Houthis' military spokesman, Yahya Sarea, remarked on Wednesday morning that they had targeted Aramco's headquarters in Dhahran, an Aramco refinery in Riyadh and the capital's King Khalid International Airport with ballistic missiles, cruise missiles and drones.

"Operations towards Saudi depths will continue in the coming days, targeting Saudi enemy airports and oil facilities, " he continued.

Notably, the Houthis had threatened a "harsh and painful" response to the Saudi-led air strikes in Yemen on Tuesday afternoon.

As well as its facilities at the Ras Isa oil terminal on the Red Sea coast, north of the port city of Hudaydah, houthi-run media documented that the air strikes targeted the Yemen Petroleum Company's al-Sabaha Central Station, on the western outskirts of Sanaa.

Two civilians were killed and two others were injured in the Ras Isa attack, the Houthi-run health ministry remarked.

Meanwhile, the coalition had earlier issued a rare warning to civilians to evacuate the al-Sabaha fuel depot, saying it was planning a "special operation".

Queues reportedly formed at petrol stations in Sanaa after the warning, with numerous residents worried regarding shortages.

Meanwhile, the Yemen Petroleum Firm, which is run by the Houthis, issued a statement that sought to reassure them, saying the facility "does not contain any stock of petroleum products".

For context, the firm additionally noted it had "taken all necessary precautionary measures to address any emergency, ensuring the stability of the supply situation and the continued meeting of citizens' needs in a normal manner".

Maliki remarked the coalition targeted al-Sabaha and other facilities as they were supporting Houthi "terrorist military operations".

"The militia has used these sites in their entirety to support its war effort by supplying its arsenal of missiles and, which threaten the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and the safety of airports, ports, and commercial vessels in the Red Sea, " he continued.

Houthi-run media additionally noted on Wednesday that a Saudi air strike in the south-western district of Shamayatayn killed a woman and that artillery fire killed two civilians in the north-western district of Shadaa, near the Saudi border.

When the Houthis ousted the internationally-recognised administration from Sanaa, yemen has been devastated by a civil war that began in 2014. After the Saudi-led coalition of Arab states intervened in an attempt to restore the government's rule, the conflict escalated in 2015.

When the Houthis confirmed a "maritime embargo" against Saudi Arabia and began missile and drone attacks on Saudi airports, oil facilities and tankers in the Red Sea, a four-year-old informal ceasefire began to unravel in July.

As well as an air strike on Sanaa airport that they blamed on the kingdom, the Houthis remarked they were retaliating for what they call a Saudi blockade of their territory.

In practice, the conflict escalated in September after the Houthis seized part of Yemen's south-western Red Sea coast near the Bab al-Mandab Strait, a chokepoint for global shipping. Their advance contributed to a rise in oil rates after six months of war between the US, Israel and Iran.

US President Donald Trump remarked on Truth Social on Tuesday the Houthis were "behaving very badly. And purposefully trying to drive up Oil Prices".

Speaking to reporters, he did not answer a question on whether he had created a decision to assist the Saudis retaliate against them, but noted he "might" ask Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan to intervene.

Last week, pro-government forces remarked they had regained control of territory overlooking Bab al-Mandab after launching a major counter-offensive with the backing of Saudi air strikes.

Hundreds of individuals have reportedly been killed in Yemen since August. The UN's human rights office notes they include at least 54 civilians, half of them children.

Taken together, the developments around houthi missile hits Aramco building after Saudi-led coalition strike on Yemen fuel point to a situation that is still moving, and the coming days should bring more clarity.