On Wednesday, October 14, Yemen’s Houthis vowed more attacks on Saudi airports and oil facilities after claiming strikes on Aramco sites, while Saudi-led forces said they intercepted a missile headed toward Riyadh.
The warning followed an attack the previous evening on an administrative building at Aramco’s Dhahran complex in eastern Saudi Arabia, a key center for the oil company’s operations. The Houthis said they had launched missiles and drones at Aramco facilities in Dhahran, an Aramco refinery in Riyadh and the capital’s King Khalid International Airport, and declared the sites legitimate targets. Saudi Arabia’s Energy Ministry reported a limited fire at the Dhahran building and no casualties, while people cited by Reuters said the fire spread across several floors and an office tower’s top three floors were damaged.
The group framed its campaign as retaliation for Saudi strikes in Yemen and urged civilians, workers and shipping companies to stay away from the threatened facilities. The Saudi-led coalition said it intercepted and destroyed a Houthi ballistic missile directed at Riyadh on Wednesday; authorities issued aerial-threat alerts before later saying the danger had passed. The exchanges mark a widening of the conflict beyond Yemen, where fighting between the Houthis and Saudi-backed forces has intensified in recent weeks.
With the Houthis threatening more strikes, Saudi airports and energy infrastructure remain at risk as both sides trade attacks and warnings.