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Houthis Say Missile Hit Ras Tanura Refinery as Two Missiles Aimed at Riyadh Are Intercepted

The Houthis said a ballistic missile hit Saudi Arabia's biggest refinery at Ras Tanura and caused a fire, a claim Saudi authorities did not confirm. The coalition said two missiles fired toward Riyadh on Tuesday afternoon were intercepted and destroyed.

By Orbit Post2 min read
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Houthis Say Missile Hit Ras Tanura Refinery as Two Missiles Aimed at Riyadh Are Intercepted

Key points

  • Yemen's Houthis said on Tuesday that they had hit Saudi Arabia's Ras Tanura oil refinery, the biggest in the kingdom, with a ballistic missile.
  • Bloomberg News cited a person familiar with the matter as saying Saudi Arabia had contained a fire near the Ras Tanura terminal in the early hours of Tuesday.
  • Nearly all of Saudi Arabia's oil exports flow through two main ports, Ras Tanura in the Gulf and Yanbu on the Red Sea, and the Houthis have attacked both in the past.

Yemen's Houthis said on Tuesday that they had hit Saudi Arabia's Ras Tanura oil refinery, the biggest in the kingdom, with a ballistic missile. Military spokesperson Yahya Saree said the strike caused a fire at the complex, which also includes a shipping terminal on the Gulf coast, west of the Strait of Hormuz. Saudi authorities did not immediately confirm the strike on the refinery.

The refinery claim

Bloomberg News cited a person familiar with the matter as saying Saudi Arabia had contained a fire near the Ras Tanura terminal in the early hours of Tuesday. The refinery has a capacity of 550,000 barrels per day. It was shut for a period in the early months of the Iran war as a precautionary measure.

Nearly all of Saudi Arabia's oil exports flow through two main ports, Ras Tanura in the Gulf and Yanbu on the Red Sea, and the Houthis have attacked both in the past. Because so much of the kingdom's export crude passes through Ras Tanura, any confirmed damage there would matter to oil markets well beyond Saudi Arabia.

Missiles aimed at the capital

On Tuesday afternoon, civil defence authorities briefly issued an air raid alert in Riyadh. The Saudi-led coalition, which is fighting the Houthis in support of Yemen's internationally recognised government, said it had intercepted and destroyed two ballistic missiles launched by the Houthis toward the capital.

The afternoon launches followed a larger barrage earlier in the day. The coalition said it had intercepted three ballistic missiles fired toward the Eastern Region, where Ras Tanura sits, and four drones fired toward the Southern Region.

Wider claims, and what is not confirmed

The Houthis also said they had attacked two military transport jets at Najran Airport and an airbase in Khamis Mushait, and that they had repelled an advance by Saudi-backed forces near the southern approaches to the Bab el-Mandeb Strait, an important Red Sea shipping route. There was no immediate Saudi confirmation of those attacks.

Diplomacy behind the fighting

The Houthis have escalated their attacks on Saudi Arabia since September, and the fighting has shattered a 2022 truce brokered by the United Nations 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 calm the wider Middle East conflict, and Egypt's parliament authorised the Egyptian military to help defend Saudi Arabia if Riyadh asks.

The renewed fighting has further disrupted oil supplies and raised the risk of a wider regional conflict, eight months after the Iran war began.

Timeline

  1. Oct 26, 2026Saudi Arabia, Turkey and Pakistan meet Iranian officials in Tehran to try to de-escalate the wider conflict. Egypt's parliament authorises the Egyptian military to help defend Saudi Arabia if Riyadh asks.
  2. Oct 27, 2026The coalition says it intercepted three ballistic missiles toward the Eastern Region and four drones toward the Southern Region. The Houthis say a missile hit the Ras Tanura refinery, and a fire near its terminal is contained in the early hours, according to a person familiar with the matter cited by Bloomberg.
  3. Oct 27, 2026On Tuesday afternoon, civil defence issues an air raid alert in Riyadh. The coalition says it intercepted and destroyed two ballistic missiles launched toward the capital.

Sources