Houthi Missile Barrage Damages Aramco Tower In Riyadh Arabian Post

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Arabian Post Staff -Dubai

Saudi Aramco's office tower in Riyadh's financial district sustained damage on Sunday after Saudi air defences intercepted missiles launched by Yemen's Houthi movement, disrupting efforts to restore normal activity in the capital.

Saudi Arabia's Ministry of Energy said falling fragments struck an administrative building belonging to the state oil company, causing limited damage without deaths or injuries. Authorities responded immediately and took protective measures, the ministry said.

Windows were shattered across several floors of the Aramco Tower in King Abdullah Financial District, a prominent commercial development housing major financial institutions and corporate offices. The visible damage underscored the vulnerability of central Riyadh despite the kingdom's missile interception systems.

The Saudi-led military coalition said its air defences destroyed two ballistic missiles fired towards Riyadh early on Sunday. It also announced interceptions of cruise missiles directed towards the capital and southern areas, as well as a ballistic missile targeting the Eastern Province.

Coalition spokesman Major General Turki al-Malki identified the Houthis as responsible for the launches. Civil defence authorities issued emergency warnings as explosions were heard in Riyadh, while alerts were also activated in parts of the Eastern Province.

The Houthis subsequently claimed responsibility for attacks involving ballistic missiles, cruise missiles and drones. The group listed Riyadh's financial district, the capital's airport, oil storage facilities and Abqaiq among its intended targets. Saudi authorities did not confirm that all the locations named had been struck.

The coalition had also announced the interception of a cruise missile aimed at the Riyadh region on Saturday, before the larger series of alerts on Sunday. The successive warnings highlighted the pressure on emergency services as schools and offices prepared to reopen. Officials did not disclose whether the tower itself had been directly hit by a missile.

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The damage came at a sensitive point in Riyadh's attempts to resume ordinary business and public services following weeks of security restrictions. King Abdullah Financial District had operated under remote-working arrangements for approximately a month after an earlier wave of attacks.

Schools began returning to classroom teaching on Sunday after a period of distance learning, while government departments were also moving towards office attendance. The education ministry had announced the resumption of in-person schooling on Saturday, hours before the new missile alerts.

The return to normal operations followed an October attack on Riyadh's airport that killed 13 people and injured more than 300, disrupting flights and prompting the cancellation of major events. The renewed threat to the capital has complicated the reopening of workplaces and public facilities.

Aramco's Riyadh offices occupy a conspicuous position within the financial district, making the building a highly visible symbol of the kingdom's corporate presence. The energy ministry described the damage as limited, although broken glass and damage to parts of the exterior were evident across multiple floors.

There was no immediate official indication that the incident had affected Aramco's oil production or exports. The ministry's statement concerned an administrative building rather than an operating oil installation, and did not provide an estimate of repair costs or a timetable for restoring the damaged offices.

The attack followed other strikes against Saudi energy infrastructure, including facilities associated with Aramco in Dhahran and the Shaybah oil field. The targeting of corporate premises in the capital extended the security concerns beyond production sites and transport infrastructure.

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Saudi Arabia has been exchanging strikes with the Houthis amid an escalation of fighting in Yemen. The Saudi-led coalition has conducted operations against Houthi military positions, while the movement has launched missiles and drones towards Saudi cities and strategic facilities.

The Houthis said their latest operations were retaliation for Saudi attacks in Yemen. Their account of the targets and the results could not be independently established, and Saudi officials attributed the damage at the Riyadh tower to falling debris from an attempted strike.

The coalition also announced operations against missile launchers in Houthi-controlled territory. Separately, Houthi authorities said Saudi air strikes near Sanaa had caused civilian deaths, figures that were not independently verified. The competing claims illustrate the continuing dispute over the scale and consequences of military operations.

Saudi civil defence officials subsequently announced that warnings had been lifted in several Eastern Province locations, including Dammam, Dhahran, Abqaiq and Al-Ahsa, after the immediate danger passed. The authorities had used the national early-warning system to notify residents of potential threats.

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