Iran-backed Houthi rebels hit the headquarters of the Saudi state-owned oil company Aramco in an overnight strike, two regional officials said Wednesday, damaging the offices of the firm’s chief executive and other top officials. The strike, in the eastern Saudi Arabian city of Dhahran, was the latest demonstration of the Houthis’ ability to attack high-profile targets, the AP reports. There were no casualties reported in the attack, which the officials said damaged the building’s top three floors. The Houthis had warned earlier they were targeting Dhahran with a ballistic missile. Late Wednesday evening, Houthi-run broadcaster al-Masirah reported strikes on the capital Sanaa, blaming Saudi Arabia. The Saudi coalition has not commented on the strikes.
The sight of smoke rising from some of Saudi Arabia’s most sensitive facilities in recent days has rattled the region and global markets. The Saudi energy ministry reported a “limited fire” at the Aramco building on Tuesday night. On Wednesday, Saudi civil defense authorities in the capital, Riyadh, said debris from an intercepted strike had left one person injured. The Saudi-led coalition said that it had intercepted two Houthi drones, four cruise missiles, and one ballistic missile targeting Riyadh, a ballistic missile targeting Dhahran and a cruise missile targeting Al-Kharj, a key military and industrial city. The Houthis called the attacks retaliation for “treacherous Saudi aggression” against Sanaa, the rebel-held Yemeni capital, and other areas, as the kingdom backs the forces of neighboring Yemen’s internationally recognized government in a major offensive.