Yemen’s Houthi rebels have struck the headquarters of Saudi state oil giant Aramco in the eastern city of Dhahran — a major escalation that brings the conflict to the heart of the kingdom’s oil industry — and warned on Wednesday that they will keep hitting Saudi airports and oil facilities.
The overnight missile strike hit an administrative building at the Aramco complex in Dhahran, Saudi Arabia’s Energy Ministry said, causing what it described as a limited fire. No injuries were reported, the ministry said.
The Wall Street Journal, citing people familiar with the matter, reported that the building suffered extensive damage: the strike set off a fire that spread across several floors and caused parts of the roof to collapse. The building houses the office of Aramco’s chief executive as well as its oil-supply planning and scheduling department, the Journal reported. Regional officials told the Associated Press the strike damaged the building’s top three floors, including offices used by the company’s chief executive and other senior officials.
Houthis vow more attacks
On Wednesday, the Houthis vowed to press on with attacks on airports and oil facilities in Saudi Arabia, Reuters reported. The group said it had launched ballistic missiles, cruise missiles and drones at Aramco facilities in Dhahran, King Khalid International Airport in Riyadh and an Aramco refinery in Riyadh. It declared airports and oil facilities legitimate military targets and urged international shipping companies, civilians and workers to evacuate them.
The Saudi-led coalition said it intercepted a ballistic missile fired toward Riyadh on Wednesday. Four people were injured by falling debris from interceptions, according to Saudi authorities, and loud booms were heard across the capital.
The strike followed Saturday’s deadly attack on Riyadh’s airport, which killed 13 people, according to Reuters. Repeated Houthi attacks over the past week have forced the capital’s main international airport to suspend operations more than once, hitting air links and the travel industry in the high season.
Markets react
The escalation rattled markets on Thursday. Brent crude futures fell 2.2 percent to $103.78 a barrel in morning trade, while major Gulf stock markets dropped — Saudi Arabia’s benchmark index fell 0.6 percent, putting it on track for a sixth weekly loss, and Qatar’s index sank 1.2 percent to its lowest level in more than six years, Reuters reported.
The International Monetary Fund warned on Thursday that a prolonged war in the Middle East — and further disruption to energy production, shipping routes or critical infrastructure — posed the biggest risk to economies in the Middle East and Central Asia.
What it means for ordinary people
For ordinary households, the stakes are fuel and flights. Brent crude above $100 a barrel keeps pressure on gasoline and diesel prices, which have already surged since the U.S.-Iran war began in February. Repeated strikes on Saudi airports have disrupted travel across the region during a peak travel season.
The Houthis say they are retaliating for Saudi Arabia’s backing of Yemeni government forces in Yemen’s war, which reignited last month amid the U.S.-Iran confrontation in the Gulf, Reuters reported. On Tuesday, the Saudi-led coalition said it struck a Houthi-held fuel depot in Yemen; the Houthis said two civilians were killed, while the coalition said it had warned civilians to leave beforehand.
Aden palace struck as the conflict widens
Hours after the Aramco strike, Houthi missiles and drones hit near al-Maashiq palace in Aden, the seat of Yemen’s internationally recognized government. Five people were killed and 16 wounded, including guards and civilian employees, Yemen’s health minister Qasim Buhaibeh said in an updated toll reported by Reuters. Yemen’s prime minister and cabinet members were reported safe.
Houthi military spokesperson Yahya Saree said the target was a Saudi military operations center inside the palace complex. The Houthi-run SABA news agency also alleged that Saudi officers and weapons depots were based there. Reuters said it could not independently verify those claims.
The strike was the first attack on al-Maashiq palace in the latest phase of fighting between the Iran-aligned Houthis and the Saudi-backed Yemeni government. Government forces began a campaign last week to regain territory near the Bab el-Mandeb Strait, a critical route for global shipping. Aid agencies have warned that the renewed conflict is worsening already severe humanitarian conditions.
Saudi Arabia details wider attacks
The Saudi-led coalition said the Houthis had launched 20 attacks on King Khalid International Airport in Riyadh during October, killing 17 people and wounding 333. It also said attacks on Abha airport killed three people and wounded 28. Those figures were presented by coalition spokesperson Turki al-Maliki and had not been independently verified by Zark News.
The coalition said it had destroyed 127 Houthi weapons-storage sites and launch platforms in Yemen. The Houthis, meanwhile, again warned airlines that Saudi airspace and airports were unsafe, while excluding the airspace above Mecca and Medina.
Separately, the Saudi-led coalition said it intercepted a cruise missile over Medina province and a drone over the kingdom’s oil-producing Eastern Province. The coalition did not publicly attribute the Medina missile to the Houthis, and the group denied responsibility for that launch. That distinction is important because the Houthis have said they will not target Islam’s holy cities.
Why this development matters
The Aden attack shows that the confrontation is no longer limited to Saudi infrastructure. It now directly threatens the headquarters of Yemen’s recognized government and adds pressure around Bab el-Mandeb, where any disruption can affect commercial shipping between the Red Sea and the Gulf of Aden.
What happens next will depend on whether the Houthis continue attacks on airports and oil sites, whether Saudi-backed forces expand their ground campaign, and whether outside powers can prevent the fighting from spreading further. Civilian aviation, energy infrastructure and aid access remain the immediate risks.
Updated October 15, 2026: This article was expanded with the Aden palace strike and the Saudi-led coalition’s account of wider attacks, then revised after Yemen’s health minister raised the Aden casualty toll to five killed and 16 wounded. Claims by the parties are attributed; casualty and damage assessments may change.
Sources: Reuters; Associated Press.
