Iranian outlet claims satellite images show tanks burning at Riyadh refinery
Nour News cites Sentinel 2 imagery from October 3, but Saudi officials have not confirmed any fire at the complex
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Map: The Gulf and Hormuz, marking Riyadh
Iranian state outlet Nour News said satellite imagery taken on October 3 shows eight spherical storage tanks near oil reserves inside the Riyadh refinery complex on fire. The outlet attributed the images to the Sentinel 2 satellite.
A witness told Reuters that a large plume of smoke and flames was seen rising near an Aramco facility in Riyadh on Saturday, but Saudi authorities did not immediately confirm a fire, according to AFP. Aramco did not immediately respond to a request for comment, AFP reported. Security forces closed access roads leading to the facility as a precaution, and no official account of any damage had been released by Saudi officials or company management, according to Kantan News. It remains unclear whether the fire, if confirmed, would have resulted from an airstrike or a technical malfunction, Kantan News reported. The Houthis had not claimed responsibility for any attack at the time of reporting, according to Daily Pakistan.
In March 2026, Iran launched a missile and drone attack on Aramco's Ras Tanura refinery, the kingdom's largest, which refines more than 500,000 barrels a day. Saudi authorities said the strike caused only minor damage after interception, and the refinery briefly closed before reopening on March 13, according to Wikipedia, citing Saudi Defense Ministry statements.
The Riyadh claim comes weeks after confirmed Houthi attacks, including the strike on Yanbu that drew a French military deployment, moved oil prices before Saudi Arabia showed it could absorb the disruption, restoring the east-west pipeline to roughly 3.5 million barrels a day and posting near-record exports. That pattern has left traders treating incremental attack headlines as noise unless Saudi officials or independent imagery confirm damage to export infrastructure, and with Riyadh yet to confirm anything and Houthis recently denying attacks Riyadh never acknowledged either, this claim falls into the same category of caution rather than an established hit to crude supply.