Debris from intercepted ballistic missiles at sites in Riyadh, in an image released by Saudi Civil Defense on October 27, 2026. Photo: Saudi Civil Defense via X
Saudi air defenses intercepted a ballistic missile fired toward Taif overnight, the coalition said, after a day in which the Houthis claimed strikes on the Ras Tanura refinery and the Defense Ministry in Riyadh.
The spokesman of the Saudi led coalition, Major General Turki al-Maliki, said air defenses "intercepted and destroyed a ballistic missile launched by the terrorist Houthi militia towards Taif," according to Saudi media. Taif, in the mountains above Mecca, is home to King Fahd Air Base. Shortly before, Saudi Civil Defense issued early warning alerts for Jeddah and Yanbu on the Red Sea coast, followed about eight minutes later by the message that "the danger has passed" in both cities.
The Taif interception ended a long day of alerts across the kingdom. Earlier on Tuesday, Civil Defense sounded warnings in Riyadh, Al Kharj and Al Hariq. The spokesman said two ballistic missiles fired toward Riyadh were intercepted, that three more aimed at the Eastern Province were destroyed and that four drones were shot down. He said there were no casualties.
Debris still caused damage. Civil Defense said falling fragments from the two intercepted missiles over Riyadh damaged a building, a project under construction and a vehicle. It released photographs showing a car behind police tape, a small crater and a large piece of missile casing on a road, each marked with numbered evidence cones.
The Houthis told a very different story. Their military spokesman, Brigadier General Yahya Saree, claimed ballistic missiles had hit the Ras Tanura refinery on the Gulf coast, causing "massive fires," as well as the Defense Ministry in Riyadh and two military aircraft at airports in Najran and Khamis Mushait. Saree also claimed a drone strike on Abha International Airport, according to Reuters, and Saudi authorities have not confirmed it. Saudi Arabia has not confirmed any hit on the refinery. Neither the Saudi Energy Ministry nor Aramco had issued a statement on Ras Tanura by Wednesday morning. Bloomberg News, citing a person familiar with the matter, said a fire near Ras Tanura’s terminal had been contained, Reuters reported.
Ras Tanura is Saudi Arabia's largest refinery and one of its main oil export terminals, with a capacity of about 550,000 barrels a day.
Claims about the damage come only from accounts on X. The account @abuzarali749 posted video it said showed columns of smoke rising over Ras Tanura on Tuesday afternoon. Open source analysts disagreed on what had been hit. Citing the channel @MerruX, the analyst Brett Erickson wrote that the strikes "actually struck important infrastructure at the refinery, and not just a storage tank as many presumed" from NASA fire detection data. The account @yarubibnqahtan wrote on Wednesday that "the damage at Ras Tanura refinery is serious." None of these claims could be independently confirmed.
Saudi authorities have warned residents not to share such material. "Filming, publishing or sharing information related to countering missiles and drones and the sites where they fall exposes you to legal accountability," Civil Defense said in a message issued in the name of the Interior Ministry, which it posted on Tuesday.
Markets reacted. Gulf stock markets slid on Wednesday as the Ras Tanura attack "rattles investors," Reuters reported. Brent crude rose 1.44 dollars to settle at 115.32 dollars a barrel on Wednesday, Reuters reported.
The attacks come as Saudi Arabia pursues both pressure and diplomacy. Defense Minister Prince Khalid bin Salman met in Tehran on Monday with Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian, Pakistan's army chief Field Marshal Asim Munir and Turkish intelligence chief Ibrahim Kalin in talks Saudi Arabia said were meant to ease tensions, Arab News and Anadolu reported.
On Wednesday, Kuwait's foreign minister arrived in Riyadh, the Saudi Press Agency reported, as Gulf neighbors consult on the crisis. Egypt's parliament voted on Monday to authorize President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi to take measures with Saudi Arabia to defend it, Arab News and AP reported.
A private intelligence firm has linked earlier strikes to Russian satellites. AURORAH Geosignal Intelligence, based in Geneva, told AP that Russian government and military satellites orbited above the targets of all 40 Houthi and Iraqi militia attacks on Saudi Arabia it studied between July 1 and October 19, including a September strike on King Fahd Air Base in Taif. Its founder, Nawaf Obaid, said the firm had not intercepted any transfer of intelligence to Iran or its allies.
Sources
- Saudi Civil Defense on X (Riyadh debris)
- Saudi Civil Defense on X (Jeddah alert)
- Saudi Civil Defense on X (Jeddah all clear)
- Saudi Civil Defense on X (filming warning)
- Saudi Civil Defense on X (Riyadh alert)
- @HashKsaPlus on X (al-Maliki, Taif)
- Salsabil Network on X (al-Maliki, Eastern Province)
- @abuzarali749 on X (Ras Tanura smoke video)
- Brett Erickson on X
- @yarubibnqahtan on X
- Reuters via The Jerusalem Post, October 27, 2026 (Saree claims, Bloomberg)
- Reuters World on X (Gulf stocks)
- Reuters, October 28, 2026 (Brent settlement)
- AP, October 28, 2026 (AURORAH satellite study)
- Saudi Press Agency on X (Kuwaiti foreign minister)
- Arab News, October 26, 2026 (Tehran meeting)
- AP, October 26, 2026 (Tehran meeting)