Houthis Say They Struck Ras Tanura Refinery and Saudi Defense Ministry

Yemen's Iran-aligned Houthis claimed on Tuesday they struck Ras Tanura, Saudi Arabia's largest oil refinery, with a ballistic missile, saying the hit set fire to the complex. Ras Tanura handles 550,000 barrels per day and includes a shipping terminal on the Gulf, west of the Strait of Hormuz. The refinery was shut for a period in the early months of the Iran war as a precautionary measure, which began eight months ago.

Houthi military spokesperson Yahya Saree also said the group hit the Saudi Ministry of Defense with a ballistic missile and Abha International Airport with a drone. The Houthis further claimed attacks on two military transport jets at Najran Airport and an airbase in Khamis Mushait. Saudi authorities did not confirm any of the strikes. Bloomberg News cited a person familiar with the matter as saying Saudi Arabia had contained a fire near Ras Tanura's terminal.

The Saudi-led coalition, which backs Yemen's internationally recognized government, said it intercepted and destroyed two ballistic missiles launched toward Riyadh. Civil defense authorities in the capital briefly issued an air raid alert Tuesday afternoon. Houthi-affiliated Al Masirah TV reported Saudi strikes on the Yemeni city of Mocha, with no immediate Saudi confirmation.

The Houthis also said they repelled an advance by forces they described as Saudi-backed from the southern approaches to the Bab al-Mandab Strait, a key Red Sea shipping route. Saudi-backed Yemeni government forces earlier this month pushed the Houthis out of coastal areas the group had seized in September, loosening its grip on a vital Red Sea oil route.

Nearly all Saudi oil exports move through two main ports: Ras Tanura in the Gulf and Yanbu on the Red Sea, both of which the Houthis have attacked in the past. The fighting has shattered a 2022 UN-brokered truce between the coalition and the Houthis, who control the Yemeni capital Sanaa.

On Monday, Saudi Arabia, Turkey and Pakistan met Iranian officials in Tehran to try to reduce regional tensions. Egypt's parliament authorized the country's military on Monday to help defend Saudi Arabia if asked; Egypt has said it is considering joining the three countries in a mutual defense pact.