Saudi Oil Refinery Hit by Drone as Iran Attacks Spark Gulf Trisis

The developments follow as explosions were seen near a Saudi Aramco oil facility in Riyadh on Wednesday.

Sharing the details in a post on X, the Saudi Defence Ministry said, "The official spokesperson for Ministry of Defence: A drone has fallen in the Samarra refinery and damage assessment is underway."

Meanwhile, Saudi Arabia's Ministry of Defence also mentioned that a ballistic missile launched towards the port of Yanbu was intercepted and destroyed.

Al Jazeera breaking reported that explosions were seen near a Saudi Aramco oil facility in Riyadh on Wednesday after Iran launched ballistic misiles at Saudi Arabia. Citing authorities, it said that four missiles were intercepted.

It also reported fire after a drone hit a second Kuwaiti oil refinery unit.

A "limited fire" broke out at Mina al-Ahmadi oil refinery in Kuwait after a drone attack, reported Al Jazeera, citing the Kuwait News Agency.According to the Kuwait Petroleum Corporation, there are no reports of any casualties, and the fire has been dealt with "according to the highest safety standards."

Earlier, there were reports of a fire at Qatar's Ras Laffen industrial city, but no casualties were reported.

Qatar's Ministry of Interior (MOI) informed that the massive fire that broke at Ras Laffen industrial area after a strike has been contained with no casualties being reported.

As tensions continue to rise in West Asia and the Gulf amid the developing security situation, the Foreign Ministers of key Arab and Islamic countries held a consultative ministerial meeting in Riyadh regarding the Iranian attacks, as per a statement by Saudi Arabia's Foreign Ministry.

According to the statement, the ministers stressed the need for Iran to abide by implementing the Security Council Resolution 2817 (2026), which called for an immediate halt to all attacks, and unconditional cessation of any provocative acts or threats against neighboring states, and the cessation of support, financing and arming its affiliated militias in Arab countries, which Iran is doing to serve its goals and against the interests of these countries.

Furthermore, to refrain from any measures or threats aimed at closing or obstructing international navigation in the Strait of Hormuz or threatening maritime security in Bab al-Mandab.

The ministers discussed the Iranian attacks on the Gulf Cooperation Council countries, Jordan, Azerbaijan and Turkiye, and they affirmed their condemnation and denunciation of these Iranian deliberate attacks with ballistic missiles and drones which targeted residential areas, civilian infrastructure, including oil facilities, desalination plants, airports, residential buildings, and diplomatic premises. The ministers further affirmed that such attacks could not be justified under any pretext or in any manner whatsoever. The ministers also stressed the right of states to defend themselves in accordance with Article (51) of the United Nations Charter, as per the statement.

The ministers called on Iran to immediately halt its attacks and affirmed the necessity of respecting international law, international humanitarian law, and the principles of good neighborliness, as a first step toward ending the escalation, achieving security and stability in the region, and promoting diplomacy as a means to resolve the crisis and further emphasized that the future of relations with Iran depends on respecting the sovereignty of states and non-interference in their internal affairs, as well as refraining from violating their sovereignty or their territories in any manner whatsoever, and not using or developing its military capabilities to threaten countries of the region.

- ANI