Houthis report missile strike on Saudi Ras Tanura refinery

Yemen's Iran-aligned Houthi movement announced on Tuesday that it struck Saudi Arabia's Ras Tanura oil refinery with a ballistic missile. The facility, located on the Gulf west of the Strait of Hormuz, is the kingdom's largest refinery and includes a shipping terminal. Houthi military spokesperson Yahya Saree stated that the impact caused a fire at the complex. The refinery has a daily processing capacity of 550,000 barrels. It was previously shut down for a period in the early months of the current Iran conflict as a precautionary measure.

The Houthis also claimed to have hit the Saudi Ministry of Defense with a ballistic missile and Abha International Airport with a drone. Saree reported that the group attacked two military transport jets at Najran Airport and an airbase in Khamis Mushait. Saudi authorities did not immediately confirm any of these specific ground or air strikes. On Tuesday afternoon, civil defense agencies in Riyadh briefly issued an air raid alert. The Saudi-led coalition stated that it intercepted and destroyed two ballistic missiles launched toward the capital.

Saudi Arabia's oil exports rely heavily on two main ports: Ras Tanura in the Gulf and Yanbu on the Red Sea. The Houthis have targeted both locations in the past. A source familiar with the matter told Bloomberg News that Saudi officials had contained a fire near the Ras Tanura terminal. The attacks occurred eight months after the start of the Iran war, a conflict that has intensified hostilities between the Houthis and Saudi Arabia and disrupted oil supply chains.

The Houthis said they repelled an advance by Saudi-backed forces near the Bab al-Mandab Strait, a critical Red Sea shipping lane. Earlier this month, Saudi-backed Yemeni government forces pushed Houthi units out of coastal areas seized in September. Houthi-affiliated Al Masirah TV reported that Saudi forces struck the Yemeni city of Mocha, though Saudi officials had not confirmed the attack by Tuesday. The fighting has ended the 2022 UN-brokered truce between the coalition and the Houthis, who control the Yemeni capital Sanaa.

Regional diplomacy has not halted the exchanges. On Monday, officials from Saudi Arabia, Turkey, and Pakistan met with Iranian representatives in Tehran to discuss reducing tensions. In a related move, the Egyptian parliament authorized the Egyptian military on Monday to assist in defending Saudi Arabia if requested. Egypt has indicated it is considering joining these three nations in a mutual defense pact.