Saudi Arabia strikes Houthi oil sites
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The gist
Saudi Arabia struck a Houthi-held fuel depot in Sanaa after Houthi missiles hit Riyadh's airport.
The revived Yemen war now threatens Aramco sites and Red Sea shipping.
Background
The Houthis are an Iran-backed Yemeni militia fighting a Saudi-led coalition that has backed Yemen's internationally recognised government since 2015. Fighting revived in July 2026 after four years of relative calm, when the Houthis declared a blockade against the kingdom and vowed to hit Saudi shipping and infrastructure. Saudi Arabia is also backing a Yemeni government counteroffensive known as "Dawn of Yemen" after the Houthis seized strategic territory along the Red Sea coast. Saudi Aramco, the state-owned oil company, is the world's largest crude oil producer and the backbone of the kingdom's economy.
How it unfolded
- Jul 2026The Houthis announced they would target Saudi shipping in the Red Sea and infrastructure inside the kingdom, and the war flared up again.
- Sep 2026Strikes on oil refineries and related facilities ramped up, and Saudi Arabia's airports became a target.
- Oct 10, 2026Houthi missiles hit King Khalid International Airport in Riyadh, killing at least 13 people and wounding more than 300.
- Oct 11, 2026A projectile hit the same Riyadh airport, killing one person and wounding 11, according to Saudi Arabia's General Authority of Civil Aviation (GACA).
- Oct 12, 2026Saudi Arabia's civil aviation body extended the suspension of operations at Riyadh's international airport.
- Oct 13, 2026Coalition spokesman Turki al-Maliki urged civilians to evacuate the Yemen Petroleum Company's al-Sabaha Central Station in Sanaa; Houthi spokesman Yahya Saree warned of a "harsh and painful" response and told people near Aramco facilities to leave.
- Oct 13, 2026Saudi Arabia struck the al-Sabaha Central Station fuel depot on the western outskirts of Sanaa; the Houthi-controlled Yemen Oil Company said the facility held no petroleum products and supplies would not be affected. The Houthis said two civilians were killed and two injured; the coalition said it had warned civilians beforehand.
- Oct 13, 2026The coalition said it intercepted a ballistic missile toward its eastern province, another aimed at Haradh near the Yemeni border, and three Houthi drones north of Riyadh. France told its citizens to avoid the airports in Riyadh, Jeddah and Dammam.
- Oct 13, 2026A ballistic missile hit an office tower in the Saudi Aramco complex in Dhahran; the top three floors were damaged and the building was on fire, a company source said. Saudi authorities described an administrative Aramco building being targeted with a limited fire and no injuries.
- Oct 14, 2026The coalition said it destroyed three cruise missiles and two drones targeting the Riyadh region and southern Saudi Arabia, with at least four people injured by falling debris. The Houthi-run Health Ministry said two people were killed in a Saudi-led airstrike in the Ras Isa port area in Hodeida province.
Who’s saying what
- Official
- Coalition spokesman Turki al-Maliki said the strikes aimed to "neutralize the capabilities of Houthis" to threaten Saudi Arabia, Yemen and international waterways, and that civilians had been warned to leave.
- Party
- Houthi spokesman Yahya Saree called Aramco facilities "a legitimate target" and urged employees and civilians near them to evacuate, warning of a "harsh and painful" response.
- Analysts
- Ahmed Nagi of the International Crisis Group said the Houthis are betting on pressure while the Saudis bet on time, striking critical infrastructure to raise the cost of continued military intervention.
- Public
- Sanaa resident Umm Shadi described "a huge fear," saying people are largely staying home.
Still unverified
It was not immediately clear whether the Aramco building in Dhahran was directly hit or damaged by falling debris from intercepted missiles; CNN could not independently verify the Houthi claim of a "precise and direct" strike on King Khalid International Airport, and Saudi authorities did not immediately comment; CNN also could not verify Houthi-run Al Masirah TV reports of artillery casualties in Saada province and strikes in Sanaa and other provinces.