Houthis claim missile hit 550,000 barrel Saudi refinery

Yemen's Iran-aligned Houthis announced on Tuesday that a ballistic missile struck the Ras Tanura oil refinery in Saudi Arabia. The facility, located on the Gulf west of the Strait of Hormuz, has a processing capacity of 550,000 barrels per day. Houthi military spokesperson Yahya Saree stated that the impact caused a fire at the complex, which also houses a shipping terminal.

Saree claimed the group also targeted the Saudi Ministry of Defense with a ballistic missile and Abha International Airport with a drone. Saudi authorities did not confirm any of these strikes immediately. Bloomberg News reported, citing a person familiar with the matter, that Saudi Arabia had contained a fire near the Ras Tanura terminal.

The Houthis reported attacking two military transport jets at Najran Airport and an airbase in Khamis Mushait. Saudi civil defense authorities issued a brief air raid alert in the capital, Riyadh, on Tuesday afternoon. The Saudi-led coalition fighting the Houthis said it intercepted and destroyed two ballistic missiles launched toward Riyadh.

Hostilities between the two sides have intensified since the start of the Iran war eight months ago. The conflict has disrupted oil supplies and increased the risk of a wider regional war. Nearly all Saudi oil exports move through two main ports: Ras Tanura in the Gulf and Yanbu on the Red Sea. The Houthis have attacked both locations in the past. Ras Tanura was shut down for a period in the early months of the war as a precaution.

On the ground in Yemen, the Houthis said they repelled an advance by Saudi-backed forces near the Bab al-Mandab Strait. This strategic shipping route had been a focal point of recent fighting. Saudi-backed Yemeni government forces pushed the Houthis out of coastal areas they seized in September earlier this month. Houthi-affiliated Al Masirah TV reported Saudi strikes on the city of Mocha, though Riyadh did not confirm the attack.

The current fighting has ended the 2022 UN-brokered truce between the coalition and the Houthis, who control the Yemeni capital Sanaa. In diplomatic efforts to reduce tensions, Saudi Arabia, Turkey, and Pakistan met with Iranian officials in Tehran on Monday. Separately, the Egyptian parliament authorized its military on Monday to help defend Saudi Arabia if requested, as Egypt considers joining a mutual defence pact with the three nations.