CAIRO - Iran-backed Houthi rebels hit the headquarters of the Saudi state-owned oil company Aramco in an overnight strike, two regional officials said Wednesday, damaging the offices of the firm’s chief executive and other top officials.
The strike, in the eastern Saudi Arabian city of Dhahran, was the latest demonstration of the Houthis’ ability to attack high-profile targets.
There were no casualties in the attack, which the officials said damaged the building’s top three floors. They spoke on condition of anonymity because they weren’t authorized to discuss the matter with the media.
The Houthis had warned earlier they were targeting Dhahran with a ballistic missile.
The sight of smoke rising from some of Saudi Arabia’s most sensitive facilities in recent days has rattled the region and global markets while increasing questions for U.S. President Donald Trump, who has said he’s evaluating whether the U.S. should join Saudi strikes against the Houthis in the latest front in the Iran war.
The Saudi energy ministry reported a “limited fire” at the Aramco building Tuesday night. Aramco didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment.
On Wednesday, Saudi civil defence authorities in the capital, Riyadh, said debris from an intercepted strike had left one person injured. The state-run SPA news agency published images showing a damaged building and a vehicle with a large cylindrical object, seemingly part of a missile, lodged in its hood.
The Saudi-led coalition said that it had intercepted two Houthi drones, four cruise missiles and one ballistic missile targeting Riyadh, a ballistic missile targeting Dhahran and a cruise missile targeting Al-Kharj, a key military and industrial city. Alerts for incoming missiles were also sounded around Riyadh, though details weren’t immediately clear.
Rebels call the strikes retaliation for ones at home
The Houthis called the attacks retaliation for “treacherous Saudi aggression” against the rebel-held Yemeni capital of Sanaa and other areas, as the kingdom backs the forces of neighbouring Yemen’s internationally recognized government in a major military offensive launched a week and a half ago. The rebel-run Health Ministry reported two dead in attacks in Yemen on Tuesday and blamed the Saudis.
The Houthis have repeatedly targeted Saudi airports, military facilities and oil infrastructure. Riyadh’s King Khalid International Airport has been targeted multiple times in the past week with strikes that have killed at least 18 people and hurt over 300 more, greatly affecting aviation across the kingdom.
The Houthis, hardened by years of civil war, have emerged as Iran’s most effective armed proxy of the moment, but experts say they also have their own agenda. Either way, they are applying increasing pressure on a key U.S. ally.
Casualties surge along Yemen’s front lines
There has been an “unprecedented surge” in combat casualties along Yemen’s front lines, according to the International Committee of the Red Cross, particularly in the city of Marib, along the Red Sea coast and the besieged city of Taiz, where the World Food Program says it can no longer reach more than 600,000 people who depend on aid.
Main roads leading into Yemen’s third-largest city have been closed amid rebel attacks, with regular clashes on the outskirts and overnight bombardment.
Residents are increasingly worried about dwindling supplies of fuel and food.
A Taiz resident, who spoke on condition of anonymity fearing the Houthis could seize the city, said that long lines now formed outside shops, and public transportation has become increasingly scarce because of fuel shortages. The sound of loud explosions keeps her awake at night, she said in a telephone interview, adding that downtown Taiz hasn’t been shelled.
On Wednesday, schools in Taiz were ordered closed for a month.
Houthi official describes diplomatic outreach for a ceasefire
A senior Houthi official told The Associated Press that regional and international powers have reached out in an effort to stop the attacks on Saudi Arabia as part of a ceasefire deal.
Mohamed al-Bukhaiti, a member of the Houthis’ political bureau, said Oman has tried to get both sides back to the negotiating table, and Russia and China also tried via Iran.
“We’re welcoming any mediation that leads to an end of the war and the blockade between Sanaa and Riyadh,” he said. “We’re ready for a comprehensive end of the war and the blockade from both sides, not just a temporary ceasefire.”
The rebels continued to warn of attacks on both airports and oil facilities. Over 3,000 flights scheduled to depart from airports across Saudi Arabia have been cancelled or listed as not operating in the past week, according to aviation analytics firm Cirium.
Saudi Arabia is running low on interceptors
The escalation has highlighted Saudi Arabia’s struggle to intercept Houthi missiles and drones. The kingdom has pressed allies like the United States for more military support. Regional officials say Saudi Arabia, the world’s top purchaser of U.S. weapons, is running low on interceptors.
The Saudis are trying to stop daily attacks across a territory about three times the size of Texas. Experts say intercepting all of the missiles and drones is impossible. The Houthis have a large arsenal capable of reaching targets well over 1,000 miles (1,600 kilometres) away, with some warheads capable of changing direction midflight.
The Saudi-led coalition also is striking oil targets. Earlier Wednesday, the Houthi-run Health Ministry said two people were killed in an airstrike Tuesday in the Ras Isa port area in Hodeida province. The strike hit a facility of the state oil company, the ministry said. The Saudi-led coalition also attacked an oil facility in Sanaa.
The targeting of fuel storage facilities in Houthi-controlled areas marks a new phase, said Ahmed Nagi, senior Yemen analyst at the International Crisis Group, a think tank. He added that in a war of attrition, the rebels could risk losing much of their military capacity.
“The Houthis are betting on pressure, while the Saudis are betting on time,” Nagi said.
The fighting has revived Yemen’s civil war after four years of relative calm.
“There’s a huge fear,” said one Sanaa resident, Umm Shadi, after the Saudi-led strikes there on Tuesday, adding that people are largely staying home.
U.N. detainee released by rebels
A United Nations staff member detained by the rebels has been released, the U.N. special envoy for Yemen said Wednesday. Sami al-Kalabi, who was detained in June 2024, has been freed, Hans Grundberg said. Last week, the World Food Program announced the release of one of its employees.
The Houthis continue to hold 71 U.N. workers arbitrarily detained over the past few years. Aid workers are often held for months without charges, accused of being spies for the West or Israel, claims their families deny.
By Samy Magdy and Cara Anna
Cara Anna reported from Jerusalem. Sarah El Deeb and Bassem Mroue in Beirut, Ahmed al-Haj in Aden, Yemen, and Fatma Khaled in Cairo, contributed to this report.
