CAIRO (AP) — Offices owned by senior executives with Saudi Oil giant Aramco was hit in an overnight Houthi strike on the company’s headquarters, two regional officials said Wednesday, in the group’s latest protest. Iran-backed rebels ability to attack high-profile targets even after issuing warnings that they would do so.
Officials said the top three floors of a building used by top executives were damaged. An official said the office of Aramco’s chief executive was among those affected. There were no casualties. The officials spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to discuss the matter with the media.
The sight of smoke rising in recent days from some of Saudi Arabia’s most sensitive facilities has shaken the region and global markets while increasing questions from US President Donald Trump, who said he was weighing whether the US should join Saudi strikes against the Houthis in the latest front. the war in Iran.
The Houthis earlier said they had targeted the town of Dhahran, home to the headquarters, with a ballistic missile in their latest attacks. The Saudi Energy Ministry reported a “limited fire” at the Aramco administration building on Tuesday evening. Aramco did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
On Wednesday, Saudi Arabia’s civil defense said debris from an interception in the capital, Riyadh, injured a foreigner from an Arab country. The official SPA news agency published images showing a vehicle with a large cylindrical object lodged in the front and a damaged building.
The Saudi-led military coalition fighting the Houthis said it intercepted cruise and ballistic missiles and drones targeting Riyadh, a ballistic missile targeting Dhahran and a cruise missile targeting Al-Kharj, home to the Prince Sultan Air Base and state-owned Military Industries Corporation.
Rebels call strikes retaliation against those who stayed home
The Houthis have called the attacks retaliation for a Saudi “treacherous aggression” against the Yemeni capital of Sanaa and other rebel-held areas, as the kingdom supports forces of neighboring Yemen’s internationally recognized government in a major military offensive launched a week and a half ago. The rebel health ministry on Tuesday reported two deaths in attacks in Yemen and blamed the Saudis.
The Houthis have repeatedly targeted Saudi airports, military installations and oil infrastructure. Riyadh’s King Khalid International Airport has been repeatedly targeted over the past week by strikes that killed at least 18 people and injured more than 300 others, seriously affecting aviation across the kingdom.
The Houthis, hardened by years of civil war, have now become Iran’s most effective armed agent, but experts say they also have their own agenda. Anyway, they are apply increasing pressure on a key US ally.
Houthi official describes diplomatic move towards ceasefire
A senior Houthi official told The Associated Press that regional and international powers had tried to end attacks on Saudi Arabia as part of a ceasefire agreement.
Mohamed al-Bukhaiti, a member of the Houthi politburo, said Oman had tried to bring the two sides back to the negotiating table, and that Russia and China had also tried through Iran.
“We welcome any mediation leading to an end to the war and blockade between Sanaa and Riyadh,” he said. “We are ready for a complete end to the war and the blockade on both sides, not just a temporary ceasefire.”
Rebels continued to warn of attacks on airports and oil installations. More than 3,000 flights scheduled from Saudi Arabia’s airports were canceled or listed as non-operational over the past week, according to aviation analytics firm Cirium.
Experts say Saudi Arabia can’t intercept everything
This escalation highlighted Saudi Arabia’s difficulty in intercepting Houthi missiles and drones. The kingdom has been pressuring allies like the United States to provide more military support. Regional officials say Saudi Arabia, the world’s top buyer of U.S. weapons, is running out of interceptors.
The Saudis are trying to intercept daily attacks on a territory about three times the size of Texas. Experts said it was impossible to intercept all missiles and drones. The Houthis have a vast arsenal capable of striking targets more than 1,000 miles away. Some warheads change direction during flight.
Fighting between Saudis and Houthis erupted this year when rebels blamed the Saudis for the attack on Sanaa airport. This reignited anger over the Saudi blockade of the Houthis, who in turn declared a blockade against the kingdom.
The Saudi-led coalition is also targeting oil targets. Earlier on Wednesday, the Houthi-led health ministry said two people were killed in an airstrike on Tuesday in the Ras Isa port area of Hodeida province. The strike affected a facility of the national oil company, the ministry said. The Saudi-led coalition also attacked an oil facility in Sanaa.
Targeting 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. The Houthis are trying to hit critical infrastructure in Saudi Arabia to increase the cost of continuing the military intervention,” Nagi added.
The fighting has reignited Yemen’s civil war after four years of relative calm.
“There is enormous fear,” Sanaa resident Umm Shadi said after the Saudi-led strikes on Tuesday, adding that most people were staying at home.
The International Committee of the Red Cross said all front lines have seen an “unprecedented increase in the number of gun-related injuries”, particularly in Marib, Taiz and along the Red Sea. And the World Food Program said it could no longer help more than 600,000 people around the world. besieged city of Taiz who depend on aid.
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Anna reported from Jerusalem. Associated Press writers Sarah El Deeb and Bassem Mroue in Beirut, Ahmed al-Haj in Aden and Fatma Khaled in Cairo contributed.
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