Saudi Arabia's Foreign Ministry has reported that the Yanbu oil terminal on the country's Red Sea coast was struck by a drone fired from Iran on Thursday, March 19.
The ministry said the attack occurred at the same time that the capital city Riyadh was also struck by Iranian-fired drones.
The attack on the terminal located adjacent to the Port of Yanbu was also confirmed by the Saudi Ministry of Defence (MOD), which added that a damage assessment was ongoing. However, Reuters has quoted sources as saying that the strike resulted in only "minimal impact" on the refinery and that on-site operations resumed shortly afterwards.
The MOD said that a ballistic missile that had also targeted the port was successfully intercepted and destroyed.
The foreign ministry said that, “trust with Tehran has been shattered,” as a result of Thursday's attacks.
Security consultants had earlier warned that the facility jointly operated by ExxonMobil and Saudi Aramco could be targeted by Iran or its Houthi allies to disrupt the kingdom's crude exports.
