April 7 (Reuters) - Iran on Tuesday attacked Saudi

Arabia's Jubail petrochemical complex, the heart of the

kingdom's downstream sector, Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard

Corps said in a statement, though it was not immediately clear

what exactly was hit.

Jubail, a sprawling industrial city, houses massive,

multi-billion-dollar joint ventures between state-backed oil

giant Saudi Aramco and its petrochemical subsidiary SABIC, and

Western energy majors.

The IRGC said the attacks were "in response to the enemy's

crimes in the aggression against (Iran's) Asaluyeh petrochemical

plants."

It was not immediately clear which facility or facilities

were hit. Video footage verified by Reuters showed smoke and

flames rising from the direction of Jubail.

The IRGC said it had "effectively targeted with medium-range

missiles and several suicide drones" the Sadara complex, a $20

billion joint venture between Aramco and Dow that was shut last

week, and other facilities in Jubail including one belonging to

ExxonMobil.

The IRGC also said it hit a petrochemical facility in nearby

Juaymah. However, it indicated the facility was owned by Chevron

Phillips and the company does not appear to have any facilities

there, but rather in Jubail.

Saudi Arabia's defence ministry earlier said that air

defences intercepted and destroyed seven ballistic missiles

launched towards the kingdom's eastern region, adding that

debris from the intercepted missiles fell near energy

facilities.

Aramco declined to comment on reported attacks in Jubail and

Juaymah. The Saudi government communications office and SABIC

did not immediately respond to Reuters' requests for comment.