Saudi Energy Giant Struck as War Spikes Between Houthis and Saudi Arabia

THE NEW YORK TIMES: The attack came after the Yemeni militia warned it would attack the headquarters of Aramco. The Saudi-led coalition said it was targeting Houthi capabilities.

A man looking over the skyline of Sanaa, Yemen, on Tuesday. Credit: Mohammed Huwais/Agence France-Presse — Getty Images
A building owned by the energy giant Aramco was set ablaze late Tuesday in a strike on the Saudi city housing its headquarters, the kingdom’s energy ministry said, as war spiked between the Houthi militia in Yemen and Saudi Arabia.

The Houthis had threatened earlier in the day to attack the Aramco headquarters in the eastern city of Dhahran, but did not immediately take responsibility for the strike. It came after the Iranian-backed militia reported that two major oil facilities in Yemen had been attacked by Saudi forces on Tuesday.

The Saudi energy ministry said in a statement that the strike in Dhahran had hit an Aramco administrative building and caused “a limited fire” and no injuries.

By late Tuesday, residents of both countries were on edge as explosions were repeatedly heard in their capital cities. A Saudi-led coalition said it was targeting Yemeni facilities that support the Houthi war effort, while the Houthis vowed to retaliate against comparable sites in Saudi Arabia.

The Saudi authorities issued warnings of an aerial threat in the Saudi capital, Riyadh. And Maj. Gen. Turki al-Maliki, a spokesman for the Saudi-led coalition, said four cruise missiles fired toward Riyadh and southern Saudi Arabia had been intercepted, along with two drones.

Mr. al-Maliki also reported that a ballistic missile launched toward the city of Damman [sic] in the eastern part of the kingdom by the Houthis had been intercepted, and that shrapnel fell in a residential area of neighboring Dhahran. » | Ismaeel Naar and Pranav Baskar | Reporting from Dubai, United Arab Emirates. | Tuesday, October 13, 2026

Saudi Arabia's Shia Press for Rights
BBC: Underlying tensions between Sunni and Shia in the Middle East have escalated to full-scale crises in the past few years in countries such as Iraq, Lebanon, Bahrain, and, most recently, in Saudi Arabia.

Wahhabism, the dominant Saudi school of Islam, views the Shia as heretics. Photo courtesy of the BBC
Although they only represent 15% of the overall Saudi population of more than 25 million, Shia are the dominant population, according to the International Crisis Group, in key towns such as Qatif, Dammam, and al-Hasa, which are home to the largest oil fields and processing and refining facilities.

In February, clashes between Shia Muslims and the religious police in Madina, Islam's second holiest city, triggered a wave of unrest, resulting in the arrest of dozens of people.

Tensions were eased by King Abdullah's decision to release all the detainees but the situation remains volatile.

Many Shias in Saudi Arabia relate far more to fellow Shia in Iraq, Iran, Lebanon and Bahrain, than with fellow Saudis who follow the puritan Wahhabi school of Islam. Wahabbis often class the Shia as heretics, or even to have left the faith entirely.

And at a time when many Arab officials point to the predominantly Shia Iran as the most serious security threat they face, there is a general attitude in the Arabic media that suggests Saudi Shia are somehow led by or follow an Iranian agenda.

But Saudi Shias deny this and say they face unfair discrimination.

Accusations of discrimination are backed by many western governments, led by the United States, which repeatedly express their concerns about religious freedom in Saudi Arabia. >>> By Anees al-Qudaihi, BBC Arabic Service | Tuesday, March 24, 2009