The energy giant orders staff off-site following renewed strikes across the kingdom, while Donald Trump accuses Iran of manipulating crude prices ahead of US midterms.
RIYADH / WASHINGTON — October 23, 2026 : State energy producer Saudi Aramco has instructed personnel to evacuate its main Dhahran headquarters compound, according to sources familiar with the matter, following intensified cross-border drone and missile strikes by Yemen’s Houthi movement that struck deep into the kingdom.
The evacuation at the sprawling eastern province complex came after security alarms sounded across the facility, marking an unprecedented operational disruption at the heart of the world’s largest crude exporter. Saudi defense systems simultaneously engaged hostile aerial targets over Riyadh and the western holy city of Medina, where authorities confirmed intercepting multiple explosive-laden drones launched from Yemen.
The security measures follow days of severe strikes targeting critical infrastructure across Saudi Arabia. Earlier this week, a fatal projectile strike at King Fahd International Airport in Dammam killed two individuals, while falling debris from an intercepted drone near Aramco’s Shaybah field left two contractors dead, according to Saudi civil aviation and energy authorities. The sustained nature of the bombardment has shuttered commercial flight paths intermittently and triggered fresh emergency precautions across Saudi industrial zones.
Diplomatic tensions surged alongside the military escalation. In Washington, US President Donald Trump publicly accused Tehran of deliberately orchestrating regional disruption to drive up international oil prices ahead of upcoming US congressional midterm elections. Writing on his Truth Social network, Trump asserted that Iranian authorities were manufacturing threats to choke navigation through the Strait of Hormuz, declaring that the Islamic Republic “can never have a nuclear weapon”.
Parallel to the White House remarks, the US Treasury Department declared that Washington’s accelerated financial campaign, designated “Operation Economic Outcast,” had virtually emptied crude traffic around Iran’s primary export terminal at Kharg Island. US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent published satellite and maritime monitoring footage showing the normally congested Gulf loading docks deserted of commercial tankers.
“Before: tankers filled Iran’s main oil-loading terminal. After: no crude tankers in sight,” Bessent stated, asserting that American sanctions enforcement had effectively choked Tehran’s key state revenue stream.
Neither Saudi Aramco nor the Saudi Ministry of Energy issued immediate public comments regarding the duration of the Dhahran campus evacuation or potential impacts on overall crude output. Despite localized infrastructure damage, regional terminal operations outside the direct impact zones continue under heightened alert.
