TEHRAN – A large plume of smoke and fire was seen rising in the vicinity of an Aramco facility in Riyadh on Saturday, a witness told Reuters.
There was no immediate confirmation from Saudi authorities about the fire. Aramco did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
The fire comes amid escalating hostilities between Saudi Arabia and Yemen’s Ansarallah, who have stepped up attacks on Saudi energy infrastructure.
There was no immediate claim of responsibility for Saturday’s fire.
On September 24, Ansarallah said they had attacked Saudi Aramco facilities in Yanbu with missiles and drones. Saudi Arabia said at the time that it had intercepted six ballistic missiles fired by Ansarallah – officially called Yemeni Armed Forces (YAF – towards Taif and the Yanbu area, but did not report damage to Aramco facilities.
Also, on September 13, a drone attack hit Saudi Arabia’s East-West Pipeline, disrupting oil flows to Yanbu.
On July 20, Ansarallah announced a naval blockade on Saudi Arabia, saying the move was in response to Saudi naval and air siege on areas it controls in Yemen.
Saudi strikes on Yemen have reached 1,350
Meanwhile, regional and Western officials told Reuters that Saudi Arabia is planning an offensive against YAF, with options being considered including a coastal push to secure the Red Sea shipping route or an assault on multiple fronts.
The operation, expected to be launched in the coming weeks, will be led by the Riyadh backed-forces on the ground and air strikes by Saudi Arabia, according to six people with knowledge of the preparations.
Over the past 24 hours, Saudi warplanes carried out 94 airstrikes and missile attacks targeting civilian sites in the provinces of Sana’a, Saada, Taiz, Hajjah, Amran and Ibb, killing and wounding civilians, YAF spokesman Yahya Saree declared in a statement on Saturday October 3.
The attacks were carried out by F-15 and Typhoon fighter jets that took off from the Khamis Mushait and Taif air bases, while the missile attacks were launched from Najran and Jizan, Saree stated.
The brigadier general added the total number of Saudi airstrikes and missile attacks since the escalation began has reached 1,350.
In a post on X, the Al-Masirah TV also said Saudi aircraft fired missiles at a telecommunications network in Saqain district in Saada as well as Amran in the same province.
Meanwhile, the independent Al-Masdar Online website reported hearing the sounds of eight explosions resulting from airstrikes on sites inside Sanaa, accompanied by the sound of aircraft flying overhead.
No details were provided about injuries or damage.
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