Houthis Launch More Missiles, Saudi Oil Company Headquarters Heavily Damaged

The Iran-backed Houthi insurgents of Yemen launched another wave of missiles at civilian airports and oil facilities in Saudi Arabia on Tuesday night, inflicting severe damage on the headquarters of Saudi Aramco, the national oil company.

Saudi officials said the top three floors of the Aramco building were damaged, including offices used by CEO Amin Nasser and other top executives. The headquarters building also contains an operations center for the company’s vast drilling and shipping network.

The Saudi energy ministry said a fire broke out on the upper floors of the Aramco building after the attack. Sources in Saudi Arabia told Reuters that the building has not been abandoned, but some of its functions have been shifted to other offices, and some Aramco employees have been asked to work from home.

The Saudi military coalition said it was able to intercept a Houthi missile targeting Dhahran, the city where Aramco headquarters is located, plus missiles and drones targeting the national capital of Riyadh and the city of al-Kharj, where Prince Sultan Air Base is located.

Prince Sultan Air Base is used by both Saudi and American forces. Several American service members were injured by an Iranian missile attack on the base in March.

The Houthis took credit for the attacks on Wednesday, promised more strikes on civilian targets in Saudi Arabia would be launched, and warned “international shipping companies” to evacuate their employees from Saudi Arabia to avoid casualties.

“Operations towards Saudi depths will continue in the coming days, targeting Saudi enemy airports and oil facilities,” said insurgent military spokesman Yahya Saree, who described Tuesday night’s strikes as a “harsh and painful” response to Saudi airstrikes in Yemen.

Senior Houthi official Mohamed al-Bukhaiti told the Associated Press (AP) that the insurgents are willing to discuss a ceasefire deal, possibly using Oman as mediators, providing the Saudis will withdraw their forces from Yemen and stop bringing economic pressure to bear against the Houthi movement.

“We’re welcoming any mediation that leads to an end of the war and the blockade between Sanaa and Riyadh. We’re ready for a comprehensive end of the war and the blockade from both sides, not just a temporary ceasefire,” Bukhaiti said.

The AP noted that Saudi Arabia is also striking oil targets in Yemen, including a major fuel depot near the capital of Sanaa that was allegedly supporting “terrorist military operations.”

International Crisis Group analyst Ahmed Nagi told the AP that both sides of the conflict are now pursuing similar strategies.

“The Houthis are betting on pressure, while the Saudis are betting on time. The Houthis are trying to strike critical infrastructure in Saudi Arabia to raise the cost of continued military intervention and support for the Yemeni government,” Nagi said.

The Saudis arguably have more to lose, and a lower threshold of pain, than the Houthi insurgency. The rapidly escalating conflict also comes at a bad time for Saudi Arabia, as a busy season of investment meetings and industry conferences had just begun, and air travel to the country has become all but impossible.

On Tuesday, the U.S. mission to Saudi Arabia issued a bulletin telling U.S. government employees they need “special authorization from the Chief of Mission to use any airport in Saudi Arabia following recent aerial attacks on airports in the Kingdom.”

“U.S. citizens should be aware of potential attacks on airports, flight cancellations, airspace closures, and travel disruptions. Please take extreme caution if you choose to use airports in Saudi Arabia,” the bulletin said.

The U.S. mission also repeated a warning from the Saudi interior ministry that “filming, publishing, or sharing information related to counter missiles and drones, and their impact sites, exposes you to legal liability.”

Similar policies were enacted during Iran’s missile attacks, on the grounds that posting images and video of the attacks can help the enemy with targeting and damage analysis, and can magnify the terror aspect of bombings against the home population, especially since amateur video of missile and drone strikes can make the damage look much worse than it really is.

President Donald Trump said on Tuesday that the Houthis are “behaving very badly.”

“I thought they learned their lesson a year ago when we bombed the HELL out of them and, at their request, stopped,” Trump wrote on Truth Social, referring to U.S. airstrikes against Houthi targets in 2025 when insurgents were attacking international shipping in the Red Sea.

“They’ve been silent for a long time, but now they’ve emerged again, probably at the behest of Iran, which is a Failing Nation, with No Navy, No Airforce, the World’s Worst Economy, and 301% Inflation, in a very nasty way, hitting Saudi Arabia, and purposefully trying to drive up Oil Prices, probably prior to the U.S. Elections — NOT NICE,” he said. 

“Somebody should explain to them that I’m not running in the Elections, I’ve already won, IN A MASSIVE LANDSLIDE, but I’ll be there after the Elections, and I will never forget!” Trump warned.