Houthi missiles hit Aramco's headquarters; India tells citizens in Saudi Arabia to stay indoors and Indian airlines cancel flights until 17 October
Yemen's Houthis struck Saudi Aramco's headquarters in Dhahran late on Tuesday, causing extensive damage, Reuters reported, citing sources; Mint and AajTak also report missiles hitting the company. Reuters says the Houthis vow more attacks on Saudi airports and oil facilities, and AP reports new explosions heard in Riyadh on Wednesday. India's foreign ministry called the attacks unacceptable (The Economic Times). The embassy advised Indians to stay indoors during aerial attacks and not to share videos (Mint), and Indian airlines have cancelled flights to Saudi cities until 17 October (The Hindu). In the Strait of Hormuz, attacks on shipping are at their highest since the Iran war began, according to security data (The Economic Times). Reuters, citing sources, says a projectile hit a container ship that sank; Iran says a naval mine sank a ship with more than 2,500 containers (The Indian Express). Hindustan Times reports a sailor from Uttar Pradesh missing after a tanker attack off Oman.
Saudi Arabia and the Strait of Hormuz sit on the routes that carry the oil and fuel India buys, and Indian workers and seafarers are exposed on both fronts. Attacks on an oil company's headquarters and on shipping push up oil prices, which feed into inflation and the rupee.
If you have family in Saudi Arabia, follow the embassy's advisories, stay indoors during alerts and do not share videos. Check your booking: Indian airlines have cancelled flights to Saudi cities until 17 October. Petrol and diesel prices follow crude with a lag.
India's line is that attacks on civilian targets and shipping are unacceptable and must stop, and that it looks after its citizens first.
Oil traders are weighing Saudi supply risk (Reuters), and the IEA says diesel shortages could last well into 2027 (Reuters).
Reports disagree on how the container ship sank, and the sailor from Uttar Pradesh is not yet matched with the two missing seafarers we reported earlier. Watch the Saudi damage assessment, any Houthi claim of a new attack and whether airlines extend the cancellations beyond 17 October.
DailyDrop India edition No. 11 · Morning · THU., OCT. 15, 2026