RIYADH(National Times)- Yemen’s Houthi forces said on Thursday they had launched attacks on Saudi Arabia’s defence ministry in Riyadh, Aramco facilities in Yanbu and the King Fahd International Airport in Dammam, where Saudi authorities said two people were killed.
Meanwhile, Iran’s Revolutionary Guards on Thursday threatened to strike American bases across the Middle East if the US military continues to escort ships through the Strait of Hormuz.
The strike on the airport in the kingdom’s eastern oil hub on Wednesday evening killed a Saudi citizen and an Indian national and wounded eight others, according to Saudi Arabia’s General Authority of Civil Aviation. It said the injuries ranged from minor to serious, and that operations had resumed and air traffic had returned to normal.
Elsewhere, two people were reportedly killed in a Houthi drone attack on a Saudi oil field.
The Saudi-led coalition said separately that it had intercepted and destroyed four drones over the Riyadh and Madina regions.
Meanwhile, in a televised speech, the Houthi military spokesperson, Yahya Saree, claimed attacks on Aramco facilities in the Red Sea city of Yanbu and on the defence ministry in Riyadh.
Saree said Saudi attacks had killed and wounded 562 people in Yemen since mid-July, when the Houthis imposed a naval blockade on the kingdom. The coalition warned at the time that it would respond “firmly”.
Following attacks in the region, Aramco told staff to evacuate its headquarters in Dhahran, on the Gulf coast, and work remotely, six people with knowledge of the matter said.
Oil prices
This would be the company’s first such evacuation since the Iran war began. The Houthis caused extensive damage to the headquarters earlier this month, when a strike on the building sent fire spreading across several floors. Aramco did not immediately respond to a request for comment, but Saudi Arabia’s benchmark stock index fell 2.5pc on Thursday.
Oil prices rose about 3pc to a five-month high. Brent crude futures gained $3.51 to $112.33 a barrel, while US West Texas Intermediate rose $2.14 to $99.29. Brent entered technically overbought territory for the third time in a week and is on course for its highest close since 4 May.
Analysts said the attacks were outweighing more positive signals on supply. “Reports of Middle East crude oil exports exceeding pre-conflict levels are more than countered by attacks on ships in the Strait of Hormuz and the Houthi strikes on Saudi Arabia and on its oil infrastructure,” said Tamas Varga of PVM Oil.
Morgan Stanley estimated that the region’s crude exports ran at about 17m barrels a day last week, compared with an average of about 18m in the 12 months before the war.
Egypt urges diplomacy
Against this backdrop, Egypt’s foreign minister said Cairo favoured exploring “every opportunity” to resolve the conflict diplomatically, days before a parliamentary vote on authorising the armed forces to support Saudi Arabia against the Houthis.
Direct involvement by Egypt’s military, one of the region’s largest, would raise the stakes in a front that is increasingly destabilising the wider war.
President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi called on Saturday for an urgent parliamentary session on the question, but after a closed meeting on Sunday, lawmakers postponed the vote until October 26 to allow further deliberation.
On Saturday, Yahya Ali al-Rai, speaker of the Houthi-run House of Representatives, warned against Egyptian involvement and urged parliament to reject the proposal. “Should Egypt slide down this path, it would pose a grave threat to its own national security and internal stability,” he said.
Hormuz attacks
Meanwhile, the IRGC said on Thursday that four vessels involved in illegal oil transfers in the northern Persian Gulf were simultaneously hit and caught fire after being tracked by its forces on Wednesday.
The Iranian forces added that three more vessels collided with mines west of the strait, and warned the US military that continued provocations could lead to a wider response against its regional bases.
“This is a serious warning,” they added.
Warning for pilgrims
Separately, Pakistan’s Ministry of Religious Affairs has urged pilgrims to either use Iranian carriers or verify “every Iran-Iraq air sector before departure” when travelling between Iran and Iraq.
In a notice, the ministry said it received guidance from the Foreign Office and urged travellers to “use Iranian airlines or plan onward travel between Tehran/Mashad and Najaf” and “verify every Iran-Iraq air sector before departure”.
Zaireen group organisers have been instructed to “avoid relying on unconfirmed Iranian connections and to maintain alternative land routes or air arrangements, sufficient contingency funds and accommodation plans in case of cancellations”.
