Iran Strikes Saudi Arabia's SAMREF Refinery at Yanbu

In the early hours of Thursday March 19, Iran delivered its first confirmed ballistic missile strike on Saudi energy infrastructure, hitting the SAMREF (Saudi Aramco Mobil Refinery Company) refinery in Yanbu — a major Red Sea port city 350km northwest of Jeddah. Gas tanks and parts of the refinery were hit; workers had been pre-evacuated following the IRGC's Wednesday evacuation order. A fire broke out but was brought under control. Saudi FM Prince Faisal bin Farhan confirmed two Saudi refineries had been attacked and declared that 'the little trust that remained in Iran has been completely shattered,' explicitly reserving the right to a military response. SAMREF was one of five Gulf energy facilities named by the IRGC as targets after Israel struck South Pars.

Key facts

• •SAMREF (Saudi Aramco Mobil Refinery Company) in Yanbu struck — one of Saudi Arabia's largest refineries
• •Gas tanks and parts of the refinery hit; workers pre-evacuated per IRGC warning
• •Saudi FM confirms two refineries attacked; 'trust completely shattered'; reserves military response right
• •Yanbu is on the Red Sea coast — first Iranian strike west of the Arabian Peninsula
• •Iran executed the strike it had explicitly threatened after IDF destroyed South Pars on Day 19