{"text":[[{"start":10.2,"text":"Houthi rebels appear to have attacked the headquarters of oil company Saudi Aramco, in what is the latest in a wave of strikes by the Iran-backed militants on Saudi Arabia."}],[{"start":19.84,"text":"The company’s headquarters in Dhahran had been attacked, causing a fire, one person with direct knowledge said on Tuesday. The kingdom’s energy ministry said an Aramco administrative building in Dhahran had been targeted, leading to a “limited fire”. No fatalities or injuries were reported."}],[{"start":37.22,"text":"The extent of the damage at Aramco — the world’s largest oil group by market capitalisation — was not immediately clear. It was unclear if the damage was caused by a direct hit or debris from an intercepted strike, the person with direct knowledge said. Aramco did not respond to a request for comment."}],[{"start":54.24,"text":"Major General Turki al-Maliki, a spokesperson for the Saudi Arabia-led coalition, said earlier on Tuesday that ballistic missile strikes launched on Haradh and Dhahran, both cities in the Eastern Province, had been intercepted. Fragments from an interception over Dhahran fell into a residential area, he added."}],[{"start":72.68,"text":"The Houthis’ suspected attack came during the World Petroleum Congress event in Riyadh, an energy industry event at which the chief executives of Siemens Energy, Baker Hughes and SLB were scheduled to speak. The heads of several oil companies, including ExxonMobil, Chevron, Shell, BP and TotalEnergies, pulled out of the event because of the deteriorating security situation."}],[{"start":95.64,"text":"Earlier the Saudi Arabia-led coalition said it targeted Yemen Petroleum Company’s Sabaha fuel depot, on the outskirts of Sana’a, the Yemeni capital held by the militants. It accused the Houthis of using civilian sites for military purposes and urged civilians to evacuate the area ahead of possible strikes."}],[{"start":113.6,"text":"The Houthis “fully exploited these sites to support the war effort by supplying the arsenal of missiles and drones that threaten the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, as well as the safety of airports, seaports and commercial vessels in the Red Sea”, said Maliki, a spokesperson for the coalition."}],[{"start":127.24,"text":"Brigadier General Yahya Sare’e, a military spokesperson for the Houthis, said Sabaha did not currently hold any stocks of petroleum products and that there was “no military value” in targeting the station."}],[{"start":140.42,"text":"The Houthis threatened a “harsh and painful” response to any strikes on Sana’a and Sare’e warned the group could target Aramco’s facilities."}],[{"start":149.16,"text":"The Houthis have repeatedly targeted Saudi Arabia’s airports. On Saturday, an attack on King Khalid International Airport in Riyadh killed 13 people, the deadliest in the kingdom in almost a decade."}],[{"start":161.72,"text":"US President Donald Trump on Tuesday said he spoke to Saudi Arabia’s Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman about the recent Houthi attacks."}],[{"start":169.08,"text":"“The Houthis are behaving very badly,” he wrote on his Truth Social platform. “They’ve emerged again, probably at the behest of Iran, which is a Failing Nation, with No Navy, No Airforce, the World’s Worst Economy, and 301% Inflation, in a very nasty way, hitting Saudi Arabia, and purposefully trying to drive up Oil Prices, probably prior to the US Elections — NOT NICE.”"}],[{"start":194.88,"text":"Saudi Arabia’s cabinet, chaired by Prince Mohammed, said on Tuesday: “The terrorist Houthi militia will face the consequences of its crimes and repeated heinous attacks” on the kingdom’s airports and cities."}],[{"start":206.4,"text":"Saudi Arabia intervened in Yemen’s civil war in 2015 in an attempt to restore the internationally recognised government after the Houthis took over Sana’a. A 2022 truce between the kingdom and the militants collapsed this summer amid the US conflict with Iran."}],[{"start":222.2,"text":"The lethal strikes on Saudi Arabia’s facilities have demonstrated the growing military power of the Houthis, who have seized territory on Yemen’s Red Sea coast. The attacks have come after the Saudi Arabia-backed Yemeni government forces launched a major operation to recapture crucial areas along the Red Sea coast, a vital waterway for the kingdom’s oil exports."}],[{"start":242.52,"text":"Brent crude, the international oil benchmark, was up 1.1 per cent in Asian trading on Wednesday at $106.88."}],[{"start":255.4,"text":""}]],"url":"https://audio.ftcn.net.cn/album/a_1791959844_2614.mp3"}