A fire broke out near Saudi Arabia’s Ras Tanura oil terminal in the early hours of Tuesday after Yemen’s Houthi movement claimed it had hit the complex with a ballistic missile, in the latest strike on the kingdom’s energy infrastructure.
The blaze near the Gulf export terminal was contained but the extent of the damage is unclear while Saudi authorities have not confirmed the strike. Yahya Saree, the Houthis’ military spokesman, called the attack “precise” and said it set off major fires at the facility.
Ras Tanura houses the kingdom’s biggest refinery, with a capacity of 550,000 barrels a day, and a key export terminal. Nearly all of Saudi Arabia’s oil exports leave through it or through Yanbu on the Red Sea, and the Houthis have targeted both before. Ras Tanura was shut for a time as a precaution early in the Iran war, which began eight months ago.
The Houthis said they also struck two military transport jets at Najran Airport, an airbase at Khamis Mushait, the defense ministry in Riyadh and Abha airport. None of these claims was immediately confirmed.
Read More: Saudi-Led Coalition Intercepts Three Houthi Ballistic Missiles
The Saudi-led coalition said it intercepted two ballistic missiles fired at Riyadh. Civil defense said falling debris damaged a building, a construction site and a vehicle in the capital.
The attack follows the October 13 strike on Saudi Aramco’s headquarters in Dhahran. The energy ministry described the fire as limited, but sources told Reuters the building was badly damaged. The Houthis then vowed to keep targeting Saudi airports and oil facilities.
On the ground, Saudi-backed Yemeni government forces pushed the Houthis out of coastal areas they seized in September, loosening the group’s hold on the approaches to the Red Sea’s Bab el-Mandeb Strait. The Houthis said they repelled a new advance there on Tuesday. The fighting has shattered a 2022 UN-brokered truce.
On Monday, Saudi Arabia, Turkiye, and Pakistan met Iranian officials in Tehran to try to ease tensions. In Egypt, the parliament authorized military to help defend Saudi Arabia if asked, as Cairo weighs joining a mutual defense pact with the three countries.
The strikes are adding to pressure on Saudi Arabia’s economy and oil revenues, and they have raised questions about how well the kingdom can protect its most valuable assets.
