An attack on Riyadh causes damage to a tower of Aramco, the state oil company of Saudi Arabia

An administrative building of Saudi Aramco, the state oil company of Saudi Arabia, was damaged this Sunday in Riyadh by falling fragments after an attempted attack, as reported by the Saudi Ministry of Energy. The authorities have reported no fatalities or injuries and have described the damage as limited.

A witness has observed shattered windows on several floors of the Aramco Tower, one of the tallest buildings in the King Abdullah financial district of the Saudi capital.

The incident occurred after the Saudi-led coalition announced the interception of two missiles launched by Yemen's Houthi rebels, backed by Iran, in the direction of Riyadh. Shortly before, several loud explosions had been heard in the capital, after the Saudi Civil Defense issued an early warning of a possible threat in the region. Authorities later announced that the danger had passed.

The Saudi coalition, which is fighting the Houthis, said it had intercepted and destroyed two cruise missiles in Riyadh and the southern region of the country. Yemeni rebels have intensified their missile and drone attacks against Saudi airports, ports and oil facilities since fighting resumed in July, opening a new front in the Middle East regional war, reactivated after the US and Israeli attacks against Iran in February. Saudi Arabia has also launched airstrikes against Houthi positions in Yemen.

During the day on Sunday, the Saudi Civil Defense also issued security alerts in several areas of the Eastern Province, an oil-rich region, which were later withdrawn. Among the affected towns was Dhahran, where Saudi Aramco's headquarters are located. This province concentrates most of the kingdom's oil and gas reserves. The oil company's central facilities suffered significant damage in another attack last October.

The escalation of violence has also had consequences in other parts of the country. According to Saudi authorities, an attack on Riyadh's King Khalid International Airport on October 10 left 13 dead and more than 300 injured.

The resumption of clashes has blown up the truce sponsored by the United Nations in 2022, which had allowed the fighting between both sides to largely stop. In 2015, Saudi Arabia led a coalition of Arab countries that intervened militarily in Yemen to restore the internationally recognized government after the Houthis took the capital, Sana'a.

The latest escalation comes a day after the Houthi-controlled Ministry of Health claimed that Saudi bombing had caused at least 33 deaths in the vicinity of Sana'a. Saudi authorities said they were investigating what happened.