A strike at an industrial complex in Saudi Arabia's Dammam caused a huge fire on Sunday, Iran's state-run IRNA News Agency reported. "A Yemeni strike hit an industrial complex in Dammam, eastern Saudi Arabia, sparking a large fire at the facility," IRNA said in a post on X. A major blaze erupted at an industrial site in Dammam. A Yemeni strike hit an industrial complex in Dammam, eastern Saudi Arabia, sparking a large fire at the facility. pic.twitter.com/jq7IAhMiBm — IRNA News Agency ☫ (@IrnaEnglish) November 1, 2026 The development comes amid escalating hostilities between the Iran-backed Houthis and Saudi Arabia, which supports Yemen's internationally recognised government. The two sides have exchanged daily attacks since a fragile truce collapsed over the summer. Read: Houthis claim strike on strategic Saudi targets The Houthis on Thursday reported that 12 people had been killed and three others critically injured in what they described as Saudi strikes on residential areas in western Yemen. The group's health ministry said the casualties occurred when homes belonging to two families were targeted in Al-Barah, in Maqbana district. The claims could not be independently verified. The Houthis had reported at least 14 deaths in Saudi strikes on a petrol station and market on Wednesday, while the group also targeted the airport in Aden, a stronghold of Yemen's internationally recognised government, wounding civilians. The latest escalation follows a breakdown of the 2022 truce in July, after the Houthis allowed an Iranian plane to land in Sanaa in defiance of Saudi control over Yemeni airspace. The move triggered renewed attacks, with the rebels subsequently targeting Saudi territory, shipping and oil facilities. The Houthis have also intensified attacks on Saudi Arabia, including strikes on Riyadh airport that forced its closure for two weeks and prompted the cancellation of major events, threatening the kingdom's economic diversification plans. Read More: Missile attack triggers alerts, blasts in Riyadh Yemen has endured conflict since 2014, when the Houthis seized the capital, Sanaa, prompting a Saudi-led coalition to intervene the following year in support of the government. More than 1,600 people have been killed and over 275,000 displaced since hostilities resumed, according to United Nations figures. Yemeni government appoints governors for two provinces partly controlled by Houthis Separately, Yemen’s Presidential Leadership Council issued two decrees on Sunday appointing new governors for al-Bayda in central Yemen and al-Jawf in the north, two provinces partially controlled by the Houthis. The government-run version of Saba News Agency said that Major General Hussein al-Ajji Ali al-Awadhi was appointed as governor of al-Bayda. Major General Amin Ali al-Akimi was also named as governor of al-Jawf and commander of its military axis, the agency added. Al-Awadhi replaces former al-Bayda governor Nasser al-Sawadi, while al-Akimi takes over al-Jawf from al-Awadhi, who had served as the province’s governor. The appointments come as both provinces face a complex military situation, with clashes continuing between government forces and the Houthi group over control of strategic positions. The Houthis control most areas of al-Bayda, while control of al-Jawf is divided between the group and government forces. Al-Bayda holds strategic importance because of its central location in Yemen and its borders with eight other provinces, four in the north and four in the south. Al-Jawf is also of military and geographic significance because it shares a land border with Saudi Arabia and lies near the Houthi-controlled provinces of Saada, Amran and Sanaa. It also borders Marib and Hadhramaut, which are under government control. Since October 5, Yemeni government forces have launched Operation “Dawn of Yemen” to restore state institutions from Houthi control and retake the capital, Sanaa. Military escalation between government forces and the Houthis resumed in July, killing and wounding thousands and displacing more than a quarter of a million people, according to UN reports. The escalation ended a period of relative calm that had prevailed in Yemen since April 2022, while the humanitarian crisis has worsened amid continued fighting and displacement. Yemen has been at war since the Houthis seized Sanaa and several provinces in September 2014, prompting a Saudi-led coalition to intervene in March 2015 in support of the internationally recognised government.