RIYADH(National Times)- Saudi Arabia launched strikes on Houthi-controlled areas of Yemen on Tuesday, targeting fuel and energy facilities it said were being used to support missile and drone attacks, as the Yemeni group threatened a “harsh and painful” response against Saudi airports, refineries and oil installations.
Hours later, Saudi authorities issued warnings of potential hostile aerial threats in the kingdom’s Eastern Province and Riyadh. Residents in the Eastern Province received alerts saying the area faced a “hostile aerial threat” before being told shortly afterwards that the danger had passed.
Loud explosions were heard near Saudi Aramco’s headquarters in Dhahran, according to witnesses. There was no immediate confirmation that the facility itself had been struck. The Saudi-led coalition said fragments from an intercepted projectile had fallen on a residential area in Dhahran.
The developments marked a further escalation in the rapidly widening confrontation between Saudi Arabia and Yemen’s Houthis, who have stepped up missile and drone attacks on the kingdom over the past week.
Earlier on Tuesday, the Saudi-led coalition said it had conducted military operations against “vital assets” used by the Houthis to sustain their war effort, Al Jazeera reported.
Coalition spokesman Maj Gen Turki al-Maliki said the targets included the Al-Sabaha central station in Sanaa, underground fuel reserves and storage tanks, as well as energy facilities in Hodeidah, Sanaa and Dhamar.
The coalition said the sites were being used to supply the Houthis’ missile and drone arsenal, posing threats to 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 the Saudi-led coalition had 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 had earlier issued an evacuation warning for civilians near the site — its first such order for Sanaa since the war flared up again.
Houthi military spokesman Yahya Saree also said the site had “no military value”, while the group warned that any further Saudi strikes would draw retaliation against targets in the kingdom.
The Houthis identified Riyadh’s international airport, an oil refinery in the capital and Aramco facilities in eastern Saudi Arabia among potential targets, and renewed warnings to workers to stay away from sites that could be attacked.
Saudi Arabia vows response
The Saudi cabinet, chaired by Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, said the kingdom would not allow threats to its security or to freedom of navigation in the Red Sea and Bab al-Mandab Strait.
It warned that the Houthis would “face the consequences of their crimes and repeated attacks” on Saudi airports, holy cities and economic facilities.
Saudi Arabia also faced continuing attacks on Tuesday, with the coalition saying it had intercepted three drones north of Riyadh.
Blasts had also been heard over the Saudi capital late on Monday, when the coalition said it intercepted a Houthi missile and the group claimed another attack on Riyadh airport.
Trump, Erdogan weigh in US President Donald Trump spoke to Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman on Tuesday and later told reporters that the Houthis were “behaving very badly”.
He also accused the group of trying to drive up oil prices ahead of the Nov 3 US midterm elections and warned that he would “never forget” their attacks on Saudi Arabia.
Trump said he might ask Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan to intervene in support of Saudi interests.
Earlier on Tuesday, Erdogan told the Saudi crown prince that Ankara would stand by the kingdom, according to the Turkish presidency, though no details were given on any specific new line of support.
Turkiye and Pakistan signed a mutual defence pact with Saudi Arabia this summer, although Ankara still requires parliamentary approval to implement its commitments under the agreement.
Senior Houthi official Mohammed al-Bukhaiti said the group would target American interests in the region if Washington joined the war.
He said the attacks on Saudi targets were intended to signal to the Saudi leadership that it could no longer wage war in Yemen “from a safe position”.
