CAIRO (AP) — Two regional officials say offices belonging to top executives of Saudi oil giant Aramco were hit in an overnight Houthi strike on the company’s headquarters, in the latest demonstration of the Iranian-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 company’s chief executive office 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 Houthis earlier said they had targeted Dhahran, which houses the headquarters, with a ballistic missile.
Earlier on Wednesday, new explosions were heard in the Saudi capital, residents said, as blame quickly fell on Iran-backed Houthi rebels in neighboring Yemen.
A Houthi official told The Associated Press that powers including Russia and China had contacted the rebels seeking a ceasefire deal.
The sight of smoke rising in recent days from some of Saudi Arabia’s most sensitive facilities has rattled the region and global markets, while raising questions for President Donald Trump, who said he was weighing whether the United States should join Saudi strikes against the Houthis.
In the latest attacks, the Saudi-led military coalition fighting the Houthis said it had intercepted a ballistic missile targeting Dhahran; cruise and ballistic missiles and drones targeting the capital, Riyadh; and a cruise missile targeting Al-Kharj, home to the Prince Sultan Air Base and the state-owned Military Industries Corporation.
The Houthis have called the latest attacks a retaliation for a “treacherous Saudi aggression” against the rebel-held Yemeni capital Sanaa and other areas. Separately, 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 on the last front of the Iranian War. One of the Riyadh residents, who requested anonymity for security reasons, lives in northern Riyadh, where King Khalid International Airport – targeted several times last week by strikes that killed at least 18 people and injured more than 300 others – is located.
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.
Even interceptions pose a danger. Overnight, Saudi Civil Defense said debris from two intercepted Houthi ballistic missiles fell on residential areas in Riyadh, injuring four people, including a child, and damaging 15 homes.
Meanwhile, the Saudis are carrying out airstrikes in rebel-held areas of Yemen to support the country’s internationally recognized government. Fighting erupted this year when rebels accused the Saudis of being responsible for a strike on rebel-held Sanaa airport. This attack reignited anger over the Saudi blockade of the Houthis. The rebels in turn declared their own blockade against the kingdom.
A week and a half ago, the Saudi-led coalition responded with a major military offensive.
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 hit a facility of the national oil company and injured two other people, the ministry said, blaming Saudi Arabia. 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 strike critical infrastructure in Saudi Arabia to increase the cost of continuing military intervention and supporting the Yemeni government,” Nagi added.
Meanwhile, fighting has reignited Yemen’s civil war after four years of relative calm.
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. Hospitals are overwhelmed and “massive influxes of victims are becoming more and more frequent”.
Meanwhile, 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 in Beirut and Fatma Khaled in Cairo contributed.
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