Saudi Arabia Intercepts Houthi Missiles; Group Claims Riyadh and Yanbu Strikes

Saudi Arabia said it intercepted six ballistic missiles fired by Yemen's Iran-backed Houthi movement on Thursday, which the Saudi-led coalition in Yemen said were aimed at Taif in the west of the kingdom and the Yanbu area on the Red Sea.

The Houthis later said they had attacked what they described as a sensitive target in the capital Riyadh and Saudi Aramco facilities in Yanbu. A Houthi military spokesman, Yahya Saree, said the group used ballistic and cruise missiles as well as drones in the two operations and that they had achieved their objectives.

There was no immediate Saudi confirmation of an attack on Riyadh, and Saudi civil defence did not issue an emergency alert for the capital on Thursday. It was not clear whether there was any damage or casualties in either Taif or Yanbu, the main alternative route for Saudi oil, after a widespread emergency alert was issued for areas including Jeddah and the holy city of Mecca.

The attack on Yanbu followed an improvement in prospects for oil exports to resume from the terminal there. Industry sources say Saudi Arabia is building up crude pumping volumes through its East-West pipeline, which was shut on September 11 after drone attacks that Riyadh has blamed on Iraqi militia.

The escalation threatens Saudi Arabia's ability to export oil through the Red Sea at a time when the Strait of Hormuz is disrupted and the East-West pipeline is only now resuming operations. The Houthis declared a naval blockade on the kingdom in July, opening a second theatre in the US-Iran war.

Saree had said earlier on Thursday that the group had attacked Saudi military sites in Jazan province bordering Yemen, using dozens of ballistic missiles and drones against what he described as operations rooms, command and control centres, weapons depots, as well as missile launch sites and military camps. There was no immediate confirmation from Saudi Arabia.

Saudi civil defence issued an emergency alert over a potential danger in Jazan on Wednesday, but issued no alerts on Thursday. Authorities also warned of potential danger in the northwestern province of Tabuk, near the border with Jordan — a first for the area during the latest escalation between the kingdom and the Houthis this month. The Houthis have largely attacked southern areas of Saudi Arabia.

They seized the whole Yemeni western coast in a lightning offensive nearly two weeks ago that brought them to the shores of the Red Sea's strategic Bab el-Mandeb waterway.

In Yemen, the Riyadh-backed government's forces had earlier repelled overnight attacks by the Houthis on a key supply route to Yemen's third-biggest city Taiz from the southern port city of Aden, where the internationally recognised administration is based, government sources said.

The Houthis have kept up pressure along a steep, winding mountain pass known as Hejat al-Abd, a lifeline for government forces and the only route for goods and residents to reach Taiz and travel abroad. Seizing parts of the road could allow the Houthis to tighten their grip around the city and deal another blow to the government, which has struggled to regain the initiative since losing the western coast.

The fighting is the latest episode in 12 years of civil war in Yemen which had largely been frozen since a 2022 truce. The Houthis seized the capital Sanaa in 2014, prompting a Saudi-led military intervention the following year in support of the internationally recognised government.

More than 700 people have been killed and thousands wounded in the latest fighting, according to the United Nations. Nearly 130,000 Yemenis have been displaced within the country, while more than 3,000 have fled by boat across the Red Sea to Africa.