Houthi Missile and Drone Attacks Strike Saudi Aramco Headquarters and Disrupt Aviation
Yemen's Houthi movement launched missile and drone attacks against Saudi Arabia, hitting a Saudi Aramco building in Dhahran and targeting Riyadh's airport. The strikes, described as retaliation for a coalition attack near Sanaa, have disrupted thousands of flights, pushed oil prices above $100 a barrel, and caused stock market declines.
Yemen’s Houthi movement launched a series of missile and drone attacks against Saudi Arabia, striking a building owned by state oil company Saudi Aramco in Dhahran and targeting King Khalid International Airport in Riyadh. Houthi military spokesman Yahya Sarea confirmed that the group targeted Aramco’s headquarters, an Aramco refinery in Riyadh, and the airport.
A missile hit the Aramco building in Dhahran, causing a fire and damaging the top three floors of an administrative tower. The Saudi-led coalition reported intercepting missiles and drones targeting Riyadh, Al-Kharj, Haradh, and Dhahran. Saudi civil defense stated that falling debris from intercepted missiles injured four people in Riyadh, including two women, a man, and a child. Global News separately reported that interception debris in Riyadh injured one foreigner from an Arab country.
The Houthi attacks were stated to be in response to a Saudi-led coalition strike on the Yemen Petroleum Company’s al-Sabaha facility near Sanaa. In another coalition airstrike on the Ras Isa oil terminal in Yemen, two civilians were killed and two others injured.
Strikes on King Khalid International Airport over the past week have resulted in significant casualties. According to BBC reporting, a previous missile strike on the airport on Saturday killed 13 people. Global News reported that strikes on the same airport over the past week killed at least 18 people and hurt more than 300.
The escalation has severely disrupted aviation across the country, with more than 3,000 flights scheduled to depart from airports across Saudi Arabia canceled or listed as not operating in the past week.
Global markets reacted sharply to the widening conflict. Brent crude oil has traded at or above US$100 a barrel for more than a month due to the escalating violence. U.S. President Donald Trump stated that the Houthis are behaving badly and purposefully trying to drive up oil prices. Following the attacks, the Saudi stock exchange’s Tadawul All Share Index dropped as much as 1.8 percent, and Aramco shares fell as much as 1.6 percent.
Beyond the immediate military and economic fallout, Yemen continues to face a deepening humanitarian crisis. Suspected cholera cases in the country tripled in three weeks, rising from 217 to 647.