Houthi missiles aimed at Riyadh damage an Aramco building in the Saudi capital’s financial heart

Yemen’s Houthis fired a volley of missiles and a drone at Saudi Arabia on Sunday morning, Riyadh time (Sunday afternoon AWST), and at least part of it got through to the capital’s financial district.

Saudi Arabia’s Civil Defence issued warnings for Riyadh and the southwestern city of Najran, and loud explosions were heard over the capital before authorities said the danger had passed. Military spokesman Turki al-Maliki said air defences intercepted three ballistic missiles, two cruise missiles and one drone launched at the kingdom, and that two of the ballistic missiles and both cruise missiles were aimed at Riyadh. The coalition also said a ballistic missile fired towards the oil-rich Eastern Province was intercepted.

Hours later the Energy Ministry said an administrative building belonging to Saudi Aramco in Riyadh had been damaged by falling shrapnel. It described the damage as minor, said no one was killed or injured, and said authorities had responded promptly.

Witnesses in the King Abdullah Financial District told international media the Aramco tower had been hit, and described several damaged floors, broken glass and part of the facade torn away. Unverified images of the building circulated on social media. Whether the tower was struck directly or by debris from an interception has not been established.

The Houthis had not publicly claimed the Riyadh strike by Sunday evening AWST.

Why does this building matter?

The King Abdullah Financial District is Riyadh’s showpiece business quarter, home to banks, corporate headquarters, apartments and one of the city’s biggest metro stations, which fills with commuters on a Sunday morning, the start of the Saudi working week. Aramco is the world’s largest oil exporter and the main source of the Saudi state’s income. A missile reaching the sky above that district, even one that was shot down, is a sharper message than strikes on remote border posts or oil installations.

How did the war come back?

Saudi Arabia led a coalition into Yemen in 2015, a year after the Houthis seized Sanaa. A UN-brokered truce in 2022 largely held until July this year, when fighting resumed as part of the wider regional conflict that began with US and Israeli attacks on Iran in February. Since then the Houthis have targeted Saudi airports, ports, oil facilities and military sites, and Saudi aircraft have struck Houthi-held areas.

On Saturday the Houthi-run health ministry said Saudi airstrikes killed at least 33 people in a village near Sanaa; Saudi authorities said they were investigating. Sunday’s barrage came the next morning.

What does it mean outside the Gulf?

For now, the official account is of minor damage and no casualties, and there is no report of any disruption to Aramco’s oil production or exports. But the Gulf is already under strain: the Strait of Hormuz remains largely shut by the Iran conflict, and Iran’s Revolutionary Guards said on Saturday that two tankers caught fire after hitting mines east of the strait. Every attack on Saudi energy assets adds to the risk premium in oil prices, which feeds through to what Australians pay at the bowser. Oil markets are closed for the weekend and reopen early on Monday, Asian time.

VNN will update this story as more is confirmed.