Houthis Claim Missile Strike on Saudi Arabia’s Ras Tanura Refinery as Riyadh Intercepts Two Ballistic Missiles

Yemen’s Houthis say they hit Saudi Arabia’s Ras Tanura refinery, the kingdom’s largest, with a ballistic missile on Tuesday 27 October 2026, causing what their spokesman called “massive fires”. Saudi Arabia has not confirmed a hit on the refinery. Bloomberg and the maritime security firm Vanguard reported a fire in the Ras Tanura area in the early hours that was later contained, with the extent of damage and any effect on oil loading unclear. Later the same day the Saudi-led coalition said its air defences destroyed two ballistic missiles fired at Riyadh, and Saudi Civil Defence said falling debris damaged a building, a construction site and a vehicle.

What the Houthis claim

Houthi military spokesman Yahya Saree said on X that “the Yemeni Armed Forces were able to target the Ras Tanura refinery in the Eastern Province with a ballistic missile”, according to AFP. Reuters reported that the group also claimed attacks on two military transport aircraft at Najran Airport, on an air base at Khamis Mushait, on the Saudi Ministry of Defence building in Riyadh and on Abha airport. Saudi Arabia did not immediately confirm any of these claims.

The group also said it repelled an advance by forces it described as Saudi-backed on the southern approaches to the Bab el-Mandeb Strait. That claim has not been independently verified either.

What Saudi Arabia and others have confirmed

• Eastern Province: the coalition said earlier on Tuesday that it shot down three missiles fired towards the Eastern Province, AFP and AP reported. A resident of Al Khobar, south of Ras Tanura, told AFP he received a mobile alert around dawn and then heard a very loud bang.
• Ras Tanura fire: a person with knowledge of the matter told Bloomberg that Saudi Arabia contained a fire near the Ras Tanura terminal, close to facilities operated by Saudi Aramco. Vanguard said the fire had reportedly been contained. Neither Aramco nor the Saudi government had published a statement on damage at the time of writing.
• Riyadh: coalition spokesman Major General Turki Al-Malki said air defences intercepted and destroyed two ballistic missiles launched towards Riyadh, the Saudi Press Agency reported at 15:38 local time (12:38 GMT). Witnesses heard several explosions over the capital and residents received a shelter alert. Saudi Civil Defence later said debris from the interceptions caused material damage to a building, a construction site and a vehicle. No casualties were reported.
• Western region: late on Tuesday, Saudi Civil Defence issued alerts in the Jeddah and Yanbu areas, AP reported. No interception or impact there had been reported at the time of writing.

In short, a fire at Ras Tanura is reported by two independent sources, but whether it was caused by a missile impact, by debris from an interception or by something else has not been established, and the Houthi description of “massive fires” is not supported by any published evidence so far.

Why Ras Tanura matters

Ras Tanura sits on Saudi Arabia’s Gulf coast, west of the Strait of Hormuz. The complex combines a refinery with a capacity of about 550,000 barrels per day and one of the kingdom’s two main crude export terminals; the other is Yanbu on the Red Sea, and nearly all Saudi oil exports pass through one of the two, Reuters notes. Both have been targeted before. A drone attack in early March forced a partial shutdown of the refinery, and Reuters says it was shut for a period as a precaution in the early months of the Iran war that began on 28 February.

A strike claim on Ras Tanura is a step beyond the Houthis’ recent pattern of claims against airports and air bases (our running tracker of the airport attacks, and the 25 October claims on Riyadh airport and Khamis Mushait). Earlier this month Aramco evacuated its Dhahran headquarters after Houthi strikes (what was confirmed then). Reaching the Eastern Province from northern Yemen means a flight of well over 1,000 km, which is why Riyadh and the Gulf coast depend on long-range interceptors such as the Patriot (which Gulf states operate the PAC-3 MSE) and on partner support such as the RAF Typhoon deployment.

The Egypt angle: “a declaration of war”

Before the Ras Tanura claim, Mohammed Ali al-Houthi, a member of the group’s political bureau, said on Telegram that the Egyptian parliament’s 26 October vote authorising President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi to support Saudi Arabia’s defence amounted to a declaration of war against Yemen, AFP reported. He said the group was “not afraid of any alliance that may be formed”, and pointed to the 26 October visit to Tehran by Saudi Defence Minister Khalid bin Salman, Pakistan’s army chief and Türkiye’s intelligence chief (our report on the Tehran talks). Egypt has not said what support it will send; background on the request is in our explainer on Sisi’s request to parliament.

What is still unknown

• Whether the missile the Houthis describe reached Ras Tanura, or was among the three the coalition says it intercepted over the Eastern Province.
• The cause and size of the fire, and whether refining or oil loading at Ras Tanura was interrupted.
• Whether any of the other claimed targets, including the Defence Ministry building in Riyadh and aircraft at Najran, were hit.

Defence Mena will update this article if Saudi Aramco, the Saudi government or the coalition publishes details.

Sources

• Saudi Press Agency: Coalition: air defenses intercept, destroy two ballistic missiles launched toward Riyadh (27 October 2026)
• Reuters via Al-Monitor: Yemen’s Houthis say they launched an attack on Saudi Ras Tanura oil refinery
• AFP via The Straits Times: Houthis claim attack on Saudi Arabia’s biggest oil refinery; blasts shake Riyadh
• Bloomberg via Dawn: Saudi Arabia contains fire near Ras Tanura oil hub after attack
• AP: Saudi Arabia says air defenses intercept Houthi missiles over capital
• World Ports Organization: Fire reported near Saudi Arabia’s Ras Tanura complex