Saudi state oil company Aramco has told staff to evacuate its headquarters in Dhahran on the Gulf, six people with knowledge of the matter said on Thursday, as fighting between the world's largest crude exporter and Yemen's Iran-aligned Houthis intensifies.
The US ordered the departure of some diplomats and their families from Saudi Arabia due to the threat from Houthi militants, after the Iran-backed group carried out deadly strikes from Yemen.
Clashes between the Houthis and a Saudi-led coalition that backs Yemen's internationally recognised government have raged since the group pushed towards Bab el-Mandeb, a shipping chokepoint at the Red Sea's mouth.
The instruction to staff to evacuate the building and work remotely follows a wave of Houthi attacks on the kingdom, targeting the company and Saudi airports. The company did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
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It was unclear what the reason for the evacuation was.
The kingdom's benchmark index TASI dropped 2.5% on Thursday following the Aramco news, according to LSEG data.
Crude Tankers attacked
Seven oil tankers caught fire or were damaged in the Strait of Hormuz overnight after being hit by Iran or striking naval mines, Tehran said on Thursday, a markedly high number as tensions rise over concerns about a return to all-out war.
With days before a close election in Israel in which Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu could lose power, and before next month's U.S. midterm election in which war-linked high prices have sparked voter anger, there are concerns that U.S.-Israeli attacks on Iran could resume.
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"Netanyahu wants to attack Iran, that's not even a question," Danny Citrinowicz, a researcher at Israel's Institute for National Security Studies and a former Iran specialist in Israel's military and intelligence services said.
'TARGETED ARAMCO IN YANBU'
Houthi military spokesperson Yahya Saree said in a televised speech that the group had launched attacks on Aramco facilities in the Red Sea city of Yanbu and the Saudi defense ministry in the capital Riyadh. Saudi authorities did not confirm the attack.
The Saudi-led coalition said on Thursday it had intercepted drones over Riyadh and Islam's holy city of Medina, which is near Yanbu.