NEW YORK, March 2. /TASS/. A refinery of Saudi state oil company Saudi Aramco in Ras Tanura has suspended operations following a suspected drone strike and the fire that broke out as a result, Semafor journalist Matthew Martin reported.

"There's a small fire, described as isolated and under control, at Saudi Aramco's Ras Tanura following what seems to be a drone strike earlier this morning - according to sources. Attack hit an operations unit, refinery closed as a precautionary measure," he wrote on the social network X.

The refinery in Ras Tanura sustained minor damage as a result of falling debris from downed drones, but the incident did not affect oil supplies to local markets, according to a statement by Saudi Arabia’s Energy Ministry.

"The refinery in Ras Tanura sustained minor damage due to falling debris <…>. As a precautionary measure, operations at certain production units at the refinery were suspended," the statement, cited by Al Arabiya television, said. According to the text, the incident "did not affect supplies of oil and petroleum products to local markets."

According to the agency, the facility that came under attack is one of the largest oil refineries in the world. It has the capacity to process 550,000 barrels of oil per day.

The United States and Israel launched a large-scale military operation against Iran on February 28. Major Iranian cities, including Tehran, were struck. The White House justified the attack by citing alleged missile and nuclear threats from Iran. At the same time, US leadership openly called on the Iranian population to rise up against their government and seize power.

As a result of the strikes, Iran’s supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, and several other senior figures in the leadership of the Islamic Republic were killed.

The Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps announced a retaliatory operation, targeting sites in Israel. US military bases in Bahrain, Jordan, Qatar, Kuwait, the UAE, and Saudi Arabia were also hit.