Houthi Missile Hits Aramco HQ as Yemen War Reignites — SkimNews
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- A Houthi ballistic missile struck an administrative building at Saudi Aramco's Dhahran complex on Tuesday night, damaging the top three floors of an office tower and causing limited fire with no casualties, per a company source and Saudi state news agency SPA.
- The strike came amid a week of escalating Houthi missile and drone attacks, including a Saturday ballistic missile hit on Riyadh airport that killed 13 people — the deadliest attack in Saudi Arabia in a decade.
- Houthi spokesperson Yahya Saree had specifically threatened Aramco's Dhahran headquarters and a Riyadh oil refinery as targets hours before the strike, warning of a "harsh and painful" response to Saudi-led attacks on Sanaa.
- The renewed Yemen fighting began after Houthi advances last month toward the strategic Bab el-Mandeb Strait, which has gained importance since Iran's closure of the Strait of Hormuz redirected global shipping routes.
- The Saudi-led coalition struck Yemen Petroleum Company's Sabah central fuel depot outside Sanaa, saying the operation aimed to neutralize the Houthis' ability to threaten international waterways.
- Iran offered to mediate between Saudi Arabia and the Houthis via Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi on Sunday — notable given Tehran's longstanding backing of the Houthis and its rivalry with Riyadh.
- The United States, Riyadh's strongest ally, has declined Saudi requests to be drawn into the conflict against the Houthis, leaving Saudi Arabia to seek broader allied support.
Why it matters: The Dhahran strike hit the operations centre of the world's largest oil company, which oversees an extensive network of onshore and offshore oil rigs, pipelines, refineries, and export terminals central to global energy supply. With the US declining direct involvement and the Houthis now firing into eastern Saudi Arabia with telegraphed targeting, Saudi Arabia is fighting a multi-front war without its strongest ally's boots on the ground.
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