RIYADH(National Times)- Saudi Arabia vowed on Tuesday to respond \u201cfirmly\u201d to attacks by Yemen\u2019s Houthis, after the group wounded 13 people in the kingdom using ballistic missiles and drones.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The Houthis have been engaged in renewed fighting with Saudi-backed government forces since Yemen\u2019s civil war reignited in July, when the group declared a maritime blockade on Riyadh and began targeting its ships in the Red Sea.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
They seized control of Yemen\u2019s Red Sea coast and the Bab al-Mandab Strait last week, which has become vital as the wider US war on Iran chokes the Strait of Hormuz.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Saudi Arabia issued attack alerts on Tuesday for Makkah, Jeddah and Taif governorates, before quickly cancelling them. Saudi civil defence had earlier issued short-lived air-raid alerts in six regions.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The Houthis have also targeted the oil infrastructure of Saudi Arabia, the world\u2019s leading crude exporter, pushing global oil prices above the $100 threshold.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
A Houthi strike in western Yemen on Monday killed eight government soldiers, according to two military sources.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The group also claimed a new large-scale attack using \u201cdozens of ballistic missiles and drones\u201d on King Khalid airbase in Khamis Mushait, in southern Saudi Arabia.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
A Khamis Mushait resident told AFP he heard \u201cintense blasts\u201d which left fires burning for a \u201clong time\u201d, adding \u201cHonestly, we couldn\u2019t sleep at all.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The Riyadh-led coalition confirmed on Tuesday there had been missile and drone attacks the previous day on Khamis Mushait, Abha and Taif, reporting 13 civilians wounded and damage to seven houses and two vehicles.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Saudi Arabia responded with more than 50 strikes, as it had the day before, according to the Houthis.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
As attacks continue, the United Nations Security Council is due to meet to discuss the Houthis\u2019 offensive, diplomatic sources said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u2018Hostile and extremist\u2019
The coalition said it would deal with the attacks \u201cfirmly to protect the sovereignty of the kingdom\u201d and would take \u201call necessary operational measures to deter this \u2026 hostile and extremist approach\u201d.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman was expected to hold talks with Egypt\u2019s President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi today.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
US media reported last week that President Donald Trump had rejected a personal request from the Saudi crown prince to intervene in the war. On Saturday, Trump said the Houthis had called Washington and asked the US not to get involved.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Hazem al-Assad from the Houthis\u2019 politburo said the \u201cYemeni response will continue and escalate as long as they (Saudi Arabia) persist in their aggression against our people\u201d.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The renewed fighting in Yemen comes as the wider regional war remains at a stalemate. But Trump on Monday said he was open to holding talks with Iran.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cThe failing nation of Iran wants to make a deal, quickly and badly. I will determine whether or not the USA will choose to engage \u2014 the concept of which we are open to,\u201d Trump said on his Truth Social network.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Iran\u2019s top security chief Mohsen Rezaei responded by saying on X that \u201cthere will be no negotiations until Iran\u2019s conditions are met. That is all there is to it.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Tehran has repeatedly listed demands including war reparations and the lifting of sanctions as preconditions for ending the war and its blockade of the Strait of Hormuz.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u2018Catastrophic for the world\u2019
A proposed meeting between Gulf states and Iran over the future of Hormuz was postponed on Monday.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Qatar has, meanwhile, warned of dire consequences if Bab al-Mandab was closed. Foreign ministry official Ibrahim Al Hashmi said shutting the strait would be \u201ccatastrophic for the entire world\u201d.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The Houthis seized Yemen\u2019s capital Sanaa in 2014 at the outset of the civil war, driving the government to Aden in the south.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The following year, Saudi Arabia led a coalition to intervene on the side of the government, launching wave after wave of airstrikes as the conflict escalated into one of the worst humanitarian disasters in the world.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The UN\u2019s migration agency said on Monday that the renewed fighting in the Arab world\u2019s poorest country had forced 93,864 people to flee their homes.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
RIYADH(National Times)- Saudi Arabia vowed on Tuesday to respond \u201cfirmly\u201d to attacks by Yemen\u2019s Houthis, after the group wounded 13 people in the kingdom using ballistic missiles and drones. The Houthis have been engaged in renewed fighting with Saudi-backed government forces since Yemen\u2019s civil war reignited in July, when the group declared a maritime blockade […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":133125,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-133124","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-latest_news","entry"],"yoast_head":"\n