The key facts

  • A strike on the Aramco administrative building in Dhahran caused a 'limited fire' with no casualties; debris from intercepted rockets wounded four people in Riyadh and damaged 15 houses
  • The coalition struck Sanaa, Dhamar and Saada, including a Yemen Petroleum Company facility; Saturday's strike on Riyadh airport killed 13 people — the deadliest attack since 2015
  • Trump accused the Houthis of acting 'probably at Iran's direction'; the Houthis threatened to strike American interests in the region

Attacks on Saudi facilities

Saudi Arabia reported that on Tuesday evening the administrative building of the oil company Aramco in Dhahran, in the east of the kingdom, was hit. According to an energy ministry official, a 'limited fire' broke out, with no deaths or injuries. The Civil Defense agency separately reported that debris from two intercepted Houthi rockets wounded four people in Riyadh and damaged 15 residential buildings. Witnesses reported new explosions in the capital on Wednesday as well.

Coalition retaliatory strikes

Earlier on Tuesday, the Saudi Arabia-led coalition struck oil facilities in western Yemen — in Houthi-controlled Sanaa and the provinces of Dhamar and Saada. Coalition spokesman Turki al-Maliki wrote on X that the targets were used to 'support the military efforts' of the Houthis aimed at threatening the kingdom, Yemen, the southern Red Sea and shipping lanes. After the Houthis' strikes on Saudi airports and energy facilities, the coalition issued its first evacuation order since July in the Yemeni capital, and then struck a Yemen Petroleum Company facility on the outskirts of Sanaa. The Houthi-controlled Al-Masirah TV channel called it 'Saudi aggression.' The Houthis had earlier threatened to attack Riyadh airport, an oil refinery and an Aramco facility in Dammam.

Trump's and the Houthis' reaction

Saturday's strike on Riyadh international airport killed 13 people and halted the airport's operations — the deadliest attack since 2015. After it, US President Donald Trump said he was considering joining the Saudi strikes. On Tuesday he wrote on Truth Social that 'the Houthis are behaving very badly' and are acting 'probably at Iran's direction,' adding that a year ago the US 'bombed them to pieces,' and accusing Tehran of trying to raise oil prices ahead of the US elections. Houthi politburo member Mohammed al-Buhaiti warned that if the US intervenes, the movement will strike American interests in the region, and that the goal of the campaign is to show the crown prince that he 'can no longer wage aggression against Yemen while remaining safe.'

Diplomatic background and humanitarian situation

The Saudi cabinet, led by Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, stated that it 'will not tolerate threats to its security or to freedom of navigation in the Red Sea and the Bab el-Mandeb strait.' Many countries issued warnings for their citizens in Saudi Arabia; France recommended avoiding the airports of Riyadh, Jeddah and Dammam. Since 2015, the coalition has supported the internationally recognized Yemeni government in the civil war, which has caused a severe humanitarian crisis. The WHO reported that over three weeks the number of suspected cholera cases in Yemen has tripled, and the growing incidence is overloading hospitals busy treating the wounded.