Saudi Aramco Instructs Personnel to Evacuate Dhahran Headquarters

Saudi Arabia's state-owned oil company Saudi Aramco instructed personnel working at its headquarters in Dhahran to evacuate the building and work remotely following the intensification of clashes with the Iran-backed Houthis in Yemen. Meanwhile, an attack on King Fahd International Airport in Dammam left two people dead and eight injured.

Saudi Aramco's decision to vacate its Dhahran headquarters came following Houthi attacks targeting the company and Saudi Arabian airports. While the company did not immediately respond to requests for comment regarding this evacuation move—which is the first of its kind since the start of the war with Iran—the exact cause of the evacuation remains unclear. Following the developments, Saudi Arabia's benchmark index fell by 2.5% according to LSEG data, while oil prices reached their highest level since May amid concerns that conflicts in the Middle East would affect crude oil supplies.

Houthi military spokesperson Yahya Saree announced that they carried out attacks on Aramco facilities in Yanbu on the Red Sea and the Saudi defense ministry in the capital Riyadh. The Saudi-led coalition announced that it destroyed drones over Riyadh and Medina. Meanwhile, a Saudi citizen and an Indian national were killed in the attack on the airport in Dammam on Wednesday evening, and the General Authority of Civil Aviation of Saudi Arabia reported on Thursday that operations at the airport had returned to normal.