Yemen's Houthis say they hit Saudi Ras Tanura oil refinery with missile

Yemen's Iran-aligned ​Houthis said on Tuesday they had hit Saudi ​Arabia's Ras Tanura oil refinery, the ‌biggest in ​the kingdom, with a ballistic missile.

The group's military spokesperson Yahya Saree said the strike had caused a fire at the complex, which ‌also includes a shipping terminal, located on the Gulf, west of the Strait of Hormuz. Saudi authorities did not immediately confirm the strike.

Ras Tanura, which has a capacity of 550,000 barrels per day, was shut for ‌a period in the early months of the Iran war as a precautionary measure. The Houthi militia ‌have escalated their attacks on Saudi Arabia since September, opening another front in the wider US-Israeli war on Iran.

Nearly all of Saudi Arabia's oil exports flow through two main ports: Ras Tanura in the Gulf and Yanbu on the Red ⁠Sea, both of ​which the Houthis have ⁠attacked in the past. Bloomberg News cited a person familiar with the matter as saying Saudi Arabia had contained a fire ⁠near Ras Tanura's terminal in the early hours.

The Houthis have been regularly firing ballistic missiles and drones at Saudi ​airports, ports and oil installations in recent weeks. On Tuesday afternoon, civil defence authorities briefly issued ⁠an air raid alert in the Saudi capital Riyadh. The Saudi-led coalition fighting against the Houthis in support of Yemen's internationally ⁠recognised ​government said it had intercepted and destroyed two ballistic missiles launched by the Houthis towards Riyadh.

The fighting has shattered a 2022 UN-brokered truce between the coalition and the Houthis, who control the Yemeni ⁠capital Sanaa. On Monday, Mecca defence pact countries Saudi Arabia, Turkey and Pakistan met Iranian officials in Tehran ⁠to try to de-escalate the ⁠overall Middle East conflict.

Parliament in Egypt, which has said it is considering joining the Mecca pact, on Monday authorised the Egyptian military to help defend Saudi ‌Arabia if ‌asked.