Aramco Evacuates Dhahran Headquarters Following Escalated Houthi Attacks

Saudi state energy giant Aramco has directed staff at its Dhahran headquarters to vacate corporate offices and transition immediately to remote work, Reuters reported citing informed sources. The unprecedented move marks the first known corporate evacuation of the Dhahran complex since broader regional clashes broke out, underscoring severe security concerns following sustained barrages by Yemen's Houthi rebels.

Houthi military spokesperson Yahya Saree claimed responsibility for targeting Aramco facilities in the Red Sea port of Yanbu as well as the Defense Ministry in Riyadh using drones and ballistic missiles. While Saudi authorities intercepted multiple incoming threats over Riyadh and Medina, an earlier strike on King Fahd International Airport in nearby Dammam resulted in the fatalities of a Saudi national and an Indian expatriate. The corporate headquarters in Dhahran had already sustained physical damage and fires on multiple floors during an earlier attack on the 13th of this month.

In direct retaliation, the Saudi-led coalition executed precision airstrikes targeting Houthi missile launch complexes within Yemeni territory. Although civil aviation regulators restored normal operations at Dammam airport shortly after defensive operations concluded, analysts warn that the exchange has effectively shattered the United Nations-brokered truce established in 2022, reigniting an intense regional confrontation.

The disruption across critical energy hubs instantly rattled world commodities, propelling Brent crude benchmarks upward to $111.88 per barrel after briefly tapping an intra-day high of $112.55—levels not recorded since mid-May. Experts caution that sustained disruption to Saudi oil logistics threatens to spark severe supply crunches and broader inflationary shocks across global markets if military hostilities continue to expand.