Houthis Claim Missile and Drone Strikes on Saudi Aramco Sites Amid Saudi Assault Planning

Yemen's Houthi movement said on Sunday, October 4, that it struck Saudi Aramco facilities in Riyadh and the oil-rich Khurais area with ballistic missiles and drones, causing major fires. Saudi coalition spokesman Major General Turki al-Maliki described the Houthi account as "misleading," UPI reported, citing Asharq Al-Awsat.

The Sunday claim followed a Saturday incident in which a Reuters witness saw a large plume of smoke and fire near an Aramco facility, and an AFP journalist reported smoke and flames rising from an Aramco site south of Riyadh. ZeroHedge relayed unconfirmed social media posts describing black smoke over Aramco's Riyadh refinery. Saudi authorities gave no immediate confirmation and Aramco declined to comment, Reuters reported, so the cause of the fire, the exact site and the extent of any damage remain unverified.

The attacks land in a widening conflict. The Houthis seized Yemen's Red Sea coast and the Bab al-Mandeb Strait in a lightning offensive last month and declared a naval blockade on Saudi shipping, ABC reported, while Saudi aircraft carried out 26 strikes on Sanaa. Axios reported that Saudi Arabia is preparing a major operation against the Houthis targeting coastal areas near the strait, with ground forces loyal to Yemen's government backed by Saudi air cover. A US official told Axios that Washington "is not going to take kinetic action for now", and ABC reported that President Donald Trump has so far rebuffed Riyadh's request for help.

No trading has taken place since the claims, so there is no oil price reaction yet; Brent ended Friday at about $102 a barrel. Watch for any Aramco or Saudi government statement on damage or output at Riyadh and Khurais, the first market read when trading resumes, and the timing of the Saudi-backed offensive, which Outlook India reported could launch within a week or after the US midterms in early November.