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Saudi Arabia launched strikes against Houthi-controlled areas of Yemen on Tuesday, targeting fuel and energy facilities that it said supported missile and drone attacks. The Houthis threatened a “harsh and painful” response against Saudi airports, refineries and oil installations.
Hours later, Saudi authorities issued warnings about potential aerial threats in Riyadh and the Eastern Province. Residents in the Eastern Province received alerts about a “hostile aerial threat” before authorities announced that the danger had passed.
Witnesses reported loud explosions near Saudi Aramco’s headquarters in Dhahran. However, authorities did not immediately confirm whether the facility had been hit.
The Saudi-led coalition said debris from an intercepted projectile had fallen in a residential area of Dhahran.
The developments marked a further escalation in the confrontation between Saudi Arabia and Yemen’s Houthis, who have intensified missile and drone attacks on the kingdom in recent days.
The Saudi-led coalition said it had conducted military operations against “vital assets” that the Houthis allegedly used to support their military operations, Al Jazeera reported.
Coalition spokesman Major General Turki al-Maliki said the targets included the Al-Sabaha central station in Sanaa, underground fuel reserves, storage tanks and energy facilities in Sanaa, Hodeidah and Dhamar.
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The coalition said the facilities supplied fuel to the Houthis’ missile and drone capabilities, threatening Saudi Arabia, airports, ports and commercial shipping in the Red Sea.
“The operation aims to neutralise the Houthis’ capabilities that threaten the Kingdom, Yemen, the southern Red Sea, and waterways,” the coalition said.
Houthi-run Al-Masirah television reported that Saudi-led forces struck a Yemen Petroleum Company facility on the western outskirts of Sanaa.
An AFP correspondent in the Yemeni capital reported hearing an explosion after the coalition issued an evacuation warning for civilians near the site. The report described the warning as the first such order for Sanaa since the conflict escalated again.
Houthi military spokesman Yahya Saree said the targeted facility had “no military value”. The group also warned that further Saudi strikes would trigger retaliation against targets inside the kingdom.
The Houthis identified Riyadh’s international airport, an oil refinery in the capital and Aramco facilities in eastern Saudi Arabia as potential targets.
The group also renewed warnings urging workers to stay away from sites it said could face attacks.
Meanwhile, the Saudi-led coalition said it intercepted three drones north of Riyadh on Tuesday.
Explosions were also reported over the Saudi capital late on Monday. The coalition said it intercepted a Houthi missile, while the group claimed another attack targeting Riyadh airport.
The latest exchanges have heightened concerns about the security of Saudi energy infrastructure and shipping routes in the region.
The Saudi cabinet, chaired by Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, said the kingdom would not tolerate threats to its security or freedom of navigation in the Red Sea and the Bab al-Mandab Strait.
It warned that the Houthis would “face the consequences of their crimes and repeated attacks” against Saudi airports, holy cities and economic facilities.
The statement signalled Riyadh’s determination to respond to attacks that it says threaten civilian infrastructure and strategic economic assets.
US President Donald Trump spoke with Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman on Tuesday. Trump later told reporters that the Houthis were “behaving very badly”.
He accused the group of attempting to drive up oil prices ahead of the November 3 US midterm elections. He also warned that he would “never forget” the attacks against Saudi Arabia.
Trump said he might ask Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan to support Saudi interests.
Earlier on Tuesday, Erdogan assured the Saudi crown prince that Türkiye would stand by the kingdom, according to the Turkish presidency. Officials did not provide details of any specific additional support.
Türkiye and Pakistan signed a mutual defence pact with Saudi Arabia earlier this year, according to the supplied report. However, Ankara still requires parliamentary approval to implement its commitments under the agreement.
Senior Houthi official Mohammed al-Bukhaiti warned that the group would target American interests in the region if Washington joined the war.
He said the attacks against Saudi targets were intended to show the Saudi leadership that it could no longer wage war in Yemen “from a safe position”.
The latest threats and strikes raise the risk of a wider regional confrontation, with Saudi energy infrastructure, airports and commercial shipping among the potential targets.
[…] Saudi Arabia Strikes Houthi Targets in Yemen as Threats Against Oil Facilities Escalate […]