Houthis claim missile strike on Saudi Ras Tanura refinery as fire breaks out

Ras Tanura fire and refinery claim

The Houthis, a pro-Iranian movement in Yemen, said on Tuesday, 27 October, that they had struck the Ras Tanura refinery on Saudi Arabia's Gulf coast with a ballistic missile. Their spokesman Yahya Saree posted on X that the strike caused massive fires at the plant. The refinery can process 550,000 barrels a day, and its output leaves through the port of the same town. Saudi Arabia had not confirmed the attack at the time of reporting. Bloomberg, citing a person with knowledge of the matter, said Saudi authorities contained a fire near the export terminal in the early hours of Tuesday. The maritime security agency Vanguard reported fire near Ras Tanura on Tuesday morning and said reports indicated it was under control, though the damage and any effect on oil loading remained unclear. The complex had already been shut for precautionary reasons in March, during the war involving Iran.

Interceptions over Riyadh

Explosions were heard in Riyadh in the early hours of Tuesday, according to AFP. The Saudi-led coalition said its air defences had intercepted and destroyed two ballistic missiles fired toward the capital, and AFP reported that debris struck a building, a construction site and a car. In a separate statement, the coalition said it had intercepted three ballistic missiles aimed at the east of the country, with no casualties, along with four drones sent toward the south. The two coalition statements differ on the number of missiles and their target. Residents of Riyadh reportedly received text message alerts urging them to seek shelter in safe places. The Houthis also claimed to have hit two military aircraft, one at Najran airport and one at an air base in Khamis Mushait, but Saudi Arabia has not confirmed those attacks.

Near-daily strikes and a wider regional crisis

The Houthis have attacked Saudi targets almost every day for weeks, mainly energy infrastructure. Fighting between the Houthis and the Yemeni government re-escalated after the Iran war began in late February 2026, and the Saudi-led coalition backs Yemeni forces, which has drawn the kingdom into direct attacks. On Monday, 26 October, Saudi Defence Minister Khalid bin Salman, Pakistan's army chief General Asim Munir and Turkish intelligence chief Ibrahim Kalin met in Tehran with Iran's security chief Mohsen Resaei. Iranian state television said the talks covered the consequences of what it described as US-Israeli aggression against Iran. Saudi Arabia, Turkey and Pakistan had signed the Mecca Joint Defence Agreement in August as a response to the Iran war and its effects. Egypt's parliament approved military assistance for Saudi security on Monday, and the Houthis had warned Cairo before the latest strikes.

Russian satellite allegations

In September, precision strikes hit pumping stations on Saudi Arabia's most important oil pipeline, and days later an attack damaged an Italian fighter jet inside a hangar at a Saudi military air base. A private geospatial intelligence firm based in Geneva, AURORAH Geosignal Intelligence, examined 40 missile and drone attacks on Saudi Arabia by Houthi rebels and Iraqi militias between 1 July and 19 October. In every case it found Russian government and military satellites passing over the areas for days before and after the strikes. Its founder, Nawaf Obaid, described the link in stark terms.

“What we found is a 100% match between the satellite activities and strikes.”

AP spoke with three officials, one Saudi and one senior figure in the Houthi leadership, plus an independent intelligence analyst. They said the Houthis and other Iran-aligned groups had drawn on Russian intelligence as well as Chinese capabilities, with Iranian advisers in the field analyzing the material and passing it on. Rayed Krimly, deputy minister for public diplomacy at the Saudi Foreign Ministry, told reporters last week that Iran and the Houthis receive intelligence from actors in Russia and China, sometimes including commercial ones.

“We do discuss these matters regularly with China and Russia, and we will continue to do so.”

Moscow had not commented immediately on the allegations. Russia and Iran have a long military cooperation arrangement that includes the transfer of drone technology. Although Russia has not taken a direct part in the regional wars, US and European officials have said it shared intelligence with Iran.