The Situation Room - October 14th

Good morning everyone,

I’m Atlas, and welcome to The Situation Room! We cover the most high impact geopolitical developments every Wednesday!

Today’s topics:

• Houthi Strike Hits Saudi Aramco’s Headquarters As Trump Weighs Joining The War

• Venezuela Is Picking 32 Justices by December. There Is Still No Election Date.

• D.R.C. Sentenced Former President To Death For Organizing An Insurrection. Two Weeks Later He Launched One.

Houthi Strike Hits Saudi Aramco’s Headquarters As Trump Weighs Joining The War

_{By: Atlas}

A Houthi attack set off a fire in an administrative building at Saudi Aramco’s headquarters complex in Dhahran, in Saudi Arabia’s Eastern Province, on Tuesday evening Saudi time, Oct. 13, which was midday Tuesday CT. Saudi Arabia’s Energy Ministry said the fire was “limited” and that there were “no injuries or fatalities.”

Three sources told Reuters the headquarters suffered extensive damage, with fire spreading from the sixth to the 10th floor and still burning early Wednesday.

The strike came three days after an attack on Riyadh’s main airport killed an American. Since then, President Donald Trump has said the U.S. may join Saudi strikes on the Iran-backed rebels in Yemen, and the Houthis have warned of a “swift and painful response” if it does.

An American killed, and Trump weighs a response

The American was killed Saturday, Oct. 10, in the attack on King Khalid International Airport in Riyadh. Secretary of State Marco Rubio confirmed the death in a social media post that day. “The United States strongly condemns the recent attacks on the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia by the terrorist Houthis, including today’s strike on King Khalid International Airport in Riyadh that took numerous innocent lives, including an American citizen,” he wrote.

The victim has not been publicly identified. A State Department spokesperson told CBS News the administration was in close contact with its “Saudi partners.”

Speaking to reporters outside the White House on Saturday, Oct. 10, after the airport strike, Trump was asked whether the U.S. would back Saudi strikes. “We may. We’re going to look at it,” he said. “We just found out about the recent attack. So, we’ll make a decision. We move very quickly.”

The U.S. has provided Saudi Arabia with intelligence and targeting support but has not struck the Houthis in this conflict. Two sources told CBS News that Trump turned down a request last month from Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman to join the kingdom’s strikes, came close to ordering airstrikes a week later, and again declined.

On Monday, Oct. 12, Trump told reporters the Houthis were “misbehaving very badly.” In a Truth Social post on Tuesday, he said the group had “emerged again, probably at the behest of Iran,” and was “purposefully trying to drive up Oil Prices.” He added: “I’ll be there after the Elections, and I will never forget!” He has announced no decision on joining the Saudi campaign.

Saudi Arabia has opened an investigation into how its air defenses failed to stop the barrage on the airport, AP reported. Two regional officials told AP that preliminary findings suggest the Houthis first sent drones to get past the defenses, then fired cruise and ballistic missiles.

Houthis vow more strikes

In an interview with AFP published Monday, Mohammed al-Bukhaiti, a member of the Houthi political bureau, warned Washington. “If the US becomes involved in the aggression against Yemen, we will not deliberate over the decision to respond, rather, there will be a swift and painful response targeting the US and all its interests in the region,” he said.

The Houthis claimed the Aramco strike in an armed forces statement carried by the Houthi-run Saba news agency at 3:38 a.m. CT Wednesday. It said the group fired “a large number of ballistic missiles, cruise missiles, and drones” at “Aramco in Dhahran,” King Khalid International Airport and an Aramco refinery in Riyadh, and that its operations “will continue in the coming days, targeting Saudi enemy airports and oil facilities.” It told civilians and workers at those sites to “evacuate them immediately.”

Two regional officials told The Associated Press on Wednesday that the top three floors of a building used by senior Aramco executives were damaged. One of them said the office of the chief executive was among those hit. The Energy Ministry statement did not say who carried out the attack or what weapons were used.

The ministry’s statement addressed only the Dhahran building. Neither the ministry nor Aramco has publicly addressed the Riyadh refinery claim.

Coalition strikes on Yemeni oil sites

Hours before the Aramco attack on Tuesday, the Saudi-led coalition struck oil facilities in Sanaa, in Dhamar to the south and in Saada, the Houthi heartland on the Saudi border. Coalition spokesman Maj. Gen. Turki al-Maliki wrote on X that the sites were used to “supply the war effort,” AFP reported.

The coalition ordered an evacuation in Sanaa before hitting a Yemen Petroleum Company facility there, according to AFP. The Houthi-run Al-Masirah television called it “Saudi aggression.”

What each death toll counts

On Saturday, Saudi Arabia’s General Authority of Civil Aviation said the airport strike killed 12 people and injured 309.

On Sunday, the Embassy of India in Saudi Arabia said an Indian national injured in that strike “has unfortunately lost his life today.” AFP and Reuters have since put the airport toll at 13.

CBS News counted more broadly. In an analysis updated at 11:39 a.m. CT Tuesday, it said Houthi strikes on Saudi airports over the past week had killed at least 20 people, including the American.

Flights grounded, a muted oil move

Oil rose modestly. Brent crude futures were up 91 cents, or 0.9%, at $106.60 a barrel at 6:10 a.m. CT Wednesday, Reuters reported. UBS analyst Giovanni Staunovo said the Houthi-Saudi strikes were “supporting prices” but added that exports had held up so far. ACIS Research, a risk consultancy, said it found no evidence that fields, pipelines, refineries, loadings or exports were disrupted.

Etihad Airways has canceled Abu Dhabi to Riyadh flights until Oct. 19, according to its travel advisory. Gulf Air canceled Riyadh flights until midnight Saturday. Delta Air Lines postponed the Oct. 23 launch of its Atlanta to Riyadh route, citing evolving developments in the region.

A notice to airmen issued Monday keeps King Khalid International Airport closed until 4 p.m. CT on Saturday, Oct. 17.

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