A missile struck an office building at Saudi Aramco's headquarters complex in Dhahran, damaging its top three floors and setting the building on fire, according to a company source and two people familiar with the incident. Saudi Arabia's Energy Ministry later confirmed that an administrative building belonging to the state-owned oil company had been targeted, triggering a limited fire but causing no reported deaths or injuries.

The attack on Tuesday night marked a new escalation in the Houthi campaign against Saudi Arabia, bringing the kingdom's oil operations into a widening confrontation that has already disrupted air travel and damaged residential property.

The Dhahran complex houses a major Aramco operations centre responsible for overseeing an extensive network of oil rigs, pipelines, refineries and export terminals. Any sustained threat to the facility raises concerns about the security of infrastructure central to Saudi Arabia's energy industry, although the ministry did not report damage to oil production or export operations.

The strike followed a series of attacks on Saudi targets by Yemen's Iran-aligned Houthi movement, which has launched ballistic missiles and drones in retaliation for Riyadh's military support for government forces in Yemen's renewed civil war.

The attacks have also hit the kingdom's aviation network. Riyadh's King Khalid International Airport has come under repeated fire, including a deadly missile strike on Saturday that killed 13 people, according to Reuters. Further attacks have disrupted flights and heightened concerns over the safety of civilian infrastructure.

Saudi Arabia and Houthis Exchange Strikes

Saudi air defences intercepted and destroyed missiles and drones targeting Dhahran, Riyadh and parts of the country's southern region, according to Saudi authorities. The Saudi-led coalition said fragments from an intercepted missile fell in a residential area of Dhahran.

In Riyadh, debris from two intercepted Houthi missiles injured four people, including two women, a man and a child, Saudi Civil Defense said on Wednesday. The falling fragments also caused limited damage to 15 homes, according to the agency.

Saudi Arabia's King Khalid International Airport in Riyadh faces heightened security concerns following a deadly reported attack and a Houthi warning against using Saudi airports(Representative Image). Wikimedia Commons

The attacks followed a Houthi threat to deliver a "harsh and painful" response to Saudi-led strikes on Yemen's capital, Sanaa. Houthi spokesperson Yahya Saree had warned that potential targets included the Saudi Aramco headquarters in Dhahran and an oil refinery in Riyadh. The group also urged oil workers in Saudi Arabia to stay away from sites it considered potential targets.

The Saudi-led coalition, meanwhile, carried out strikes on fuel infrastructure near Sanaa. Houthi-run Al-Masirah television reported that coalition aircraft targeted the Yemen Petroleum Company's Sabah central station, a fuel depot on the outskirts of the capital.

The coalition said its operation was aimed at "neutralizing the capabilities of Houthis" to threaten Saudi Arabia, Yemen and international waterways. It had warned civilians to stay away from the oil depot before the strikes.

Saudi Arabia's cabinet, chaired by Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, said on Tuesday that the Houthis would face consequences for their repeated attacks on the kingdom.

Saudi Arabia has resumed its military campaign in Yemen to support the internationally recognised government after Houthi forces made gains along the Red Sea coast, advancing towards the strategically important Bab el-Mandeb Strait.

The strait connects the Red Sea with the Gulf of Aden and serves as a key passage for international shipping. Its importance to energy trade has increased amid the wider regional conflict and disruption around the Strait of Hormuz, which connects the Gulf to the Indian Ocean.

A government offensive launched about a week ago pushed Houthi forces away from areas closest to Bab el-Mandeb, Reuters reported. The group remains active in nearby territory and has made gains around Taiz this month.

Saudi Arabia has sought greater support from its allies for the campaign and for defending its territory against missile and drone attacks. Washington, the kingdom's principal security partner, has so far resisted Saudi efforts to draw it directly into the fighting against the Houthis.

The renewed Yemen conflict is unfolding alongside the broader US-Iran war, which began with US-Israeli strikes on Iran on February 28, according to the supplied Reuters report. Iran's Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi said on Sunday that Tehran was prepared to mediate between Saudi Arabia and the Houthis, a position reiterated by Iran's foreign ministry on Monday.

The attack on the Aramco complex underscores how the conflict is spreading beyond military positions to strategic economic infrastructure. With airports facing repeated attacks and energy facilities now directly threatened, the security risks extend to civilian travel, oil operations and shipping through one of the world's most important maritime corridors.