RIYADH, 8 Nov (Reuters) – Windows on several floors of the corporate headquarters of the Saudi oil giant Aramco, in the heart of Riyadh’s financial district, were shattered this Sunday, in what the Energy Ministry described as an attempted attack on the building.
The Houthis, who claimed the attack, have intensified the fighting against the kingdom, which has become yet another front in the broader US and Israel war against Tehran.
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The ministry said that damage to the Aramco Tower was limited and that there were no injuries or deaths, without attributing responsibility for the attack. The Saudi-led coalition, which is fighting the Iran-aligned Houthis in Yemen, said that Saudi air defences intercepted Houthi missiles over the city in the early hours of the morning.
Many schools in the kingdom resumed in-person classes on Sunday, after weeks of remote learning, and several Saudi government agencies returned to on-site work, which had been suspended after earlier Houthi attacks.
The Houthis have intensified attacks on Aramco facilities in recent weeks, including the petroleum giant’s headquarters in Dhahran, in Saudi Arabia’s Eastern Province.
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The Saudi-led coalition said that air defences also intercepted a Houthi missile on Sunday in the province where most of the world’s oil and gas reserves of the world’s largest crude oil exporter are located. The coalition also said it had destroyed two ballistic missile launchers in Saada, used by the Houthis in Sunday’s attack on Riyadh.
NEGOTIATIONS AMID ATTACKS
The new clashes between the Houthis and the coalition backing the internationally recognized government of Yemen intensified after the group advanced in September toward the Bab el-Mandeb Strait, a strategic sea passage located on the other side of the Arabian Peninsula relative to the Strait of Hormuz.
Since then, the Houthis have intensified attacks with missiles and drones against Saudi ports and airports, including the Riyadh International Airport. The group’s military spokesman, Yahya Saree, said the airport was targeted by Sunday’s attacks, but there was no confirmation from Saudi authorities.
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An attack on the airport in October killed 13 people and wounded more than 300.
In response to the attacks, Saudi Arabia has been carrying out air strikes against Houthi targets in Yemen.
The latest escalation comes a day after Yemen’s Health Ministry, controlled by the Houthis, said that the Saudi airstrikes killed at least 33 people near Sanaa. Saudi authorities said they were investigating the case.
The kingdom, a major US ally, has also been seeking assistance from countries ranging from the US to Europe and the Middle East, both for defensive and offensive support against the Yemen-based group.
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Saudi Arabia has also pursued diplomacy, and senior officials from Riyadh, Ankara and Islamabad — the Mecca Defense Pact countries — met Iranian authorities in Tehran last month. Tehran subsequently said that talks with Riyadh would continue with the aim of seeking new regional security arrangements that exclude foreign military involvement.
