Saudi Arabia intercepts Houthi-fired missile as IRGC claims commercial ship struck mine

Saudi Aramco’s headquarters in Dhahran suffered extensive damage in a Houthi attack Tuesday, with a fire spreading across several floors, sources told Reuters.

Operations at the eastern Saudi Arabia complex have continued normally, but some employees have been asked to work from home, two sources said.

Another source said some functions had been shifted to global offices, and the fire was still burning into early Wednesday.

The facility hosts an operations center that helps the world’s largest oil company oversee onshore and offshore oil rigs, refineries, export terminals and thousands of kilometers of pipeline.

Saudi Arabia’s energy ministry said Tuesday night’s attack, which came as fighting between Yemen’s Iran-allied Houthis and the kingdom intensified, caused a limited fire.

Two sources told Reuters the fire started on the ninth floor of the south wing and spread between the sixth and 10th floors.

Another source said the top three floors, where Aramco CEO Amin Nasser’s office is located, were severely damaged, with part of the ceiling caved in and windows and doors blown out.

Reuters contributed to this report.

President Donald Trump told supporters at an Alaska rally that Iran is “the bully of the Middle East no longer,” while predicting the war will “end very soon” and arguing Tehran will not be allowed to obtain a nuclear weapon.

“They were the bully of the Middle East, but they’re the bully of the Middle East no longer,” Trump said. “But it’s going to end very soon. Very soon. They have no Navy. They have no air force. They have no anti-aircraft.”

Trump said Iran was “two weeks away from having a nuclear weapon” before U.S. action, adding that “other presidents should have done what I did.”

“You’re not going to have a nuclear Iran,” Trump said. “Because if you did, if you want to see trouble, if you want to see trouble, let them have a nuclear weapon. You’ll see trouble. That’ll be real trouble.”

Trump also tied the war to oil prices, saying the U.S. had kept key waterways open.

“We opened the straits. The straits have been open,” Trump said. “We’ve been taking more oil out of the straits now than we did before the war started. Believe it or not, we control the straits. That’s why the oil stayed where it is.”

Iran might be getting a midterm reprieve on action from the U.S. military and President Donald Trump, but that might be running out in a few weeks, Trump warned Tuesday night.

He told his Alaska rally crowd the U.S. has "had it" with Iran.

“We're going to do a number,” Trump said. “They're just waiting. They're waiting.

"Wait until you see what we do to Iran," he added. “Because we sort of had it, you know, we've had it, but, you know, it doesn't matter.

“The big thing is they were not going to have a nuclear weapon. And they want what's buried under thousands of tons of rock."

Saudi Civil Defense issued an early warning Wednesday for Riyadh and Al-Kharj, alerting residents to potential danger, according to a local news outlet cited by a public Telegram board.

The alert came as Saudi Arabia faced renewed threats from the Iran-backed Houthis, who urged “international shipping companies,” civilians and workers to evacuate airports and oil facilities, which they declared legitimate military targets.

The Saudi-led coalition said earlier Wednesday that it intercepted a ballistic missile fired by the Houthis toward Riyadh, while several loud booms were heard in the Saudi capital.

Saudi authorities had also issued an alert for a possible aerial threat in Riyadh before the warning was lifted.

The escalating conflict has threatened Saudi oil infrastructure, regional shipping lanes and the kingdom’s broader economy as the Iran war continues to spill across the Middle East.

Reuters contributed to this report.

Diesel shortages could persist well into 2027 as the Iran and Ukraine wars curb output from the Middle East and Russia, the International Energy Agency warned Wednesday.

Diesel refining margins soared to record highs of nearly $95 per barrel in September as attacks on energy infrastructure cut production.

The IEA said combined diesel export losses from the Middle East and Russia totaled 1.3 million barrels per day last month.

“Record diesel prices are already having broad economic consequences by raising the cost of goods and impacting real incomes, economic activity, and inflation,” the IEA said in its monthly oil market report.

“Diesel markets remained under significant strain as prolonged supply disruptions forced counter-seasonal stock draws ahead of autumn refinery maintenance and peak winter demand,” the IEA said.

“As the remaining buffers in the system continue to erode, in the absence of a resolution to the conflicts in the Middle East, oil markets may experience more turmoil in the months ahead before any eventual surplus emerges in 2027.”

The agency said a recovery in refinery operations later this year could help rebuild stocks, but would not make up for the diesel deficit already accumulated.

IEA members are coordinating the release of 100 million barrels of oil and diesel from emergency reserves to ease price pressure.

The warning comes as Middle East crude exports recover from wartime disruptions, with shipments through the Strait of Hormuz rising to 10.9 million barrels per day in September.

But the IEA cautioned that “the recent escalation in attacks on regional energy infrastructure and tanker traffic is threatening to derail further gains.”

Reuters contributed to this report.

Saudi Arabia intercepted a ballistic missile fired by the Iran-backed Houthis toward Riyadh on Wednesday, the Saudi-led coalition said, as tensions widened across the region and Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps claimed a commercial ship had struck a mine.

Several loud booms were heard in the Saudi capital after authorities issued an alert for a possible aerial threat in Riyadh, according to a witness.

The warning was later lifted, though it was not immediately clear what caused the blasts and Saudi officials did not immediately comment on their source.

The Houthis also issued a broad threat to “international shipping companies,” civilians and workers, urging them to evacuate airports and oil facilities that the group declared legitimate military targets.

The escalation marks another blow to Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman’s efforts to transform and diversify the kingdom’s economy while reducing its reliance on oil, as the conflict continues to threaten energy infrastructure, commercial shipping and regional stability.