Missiles and drones were intercepted over Riyadh on Tuesday after the Saudi-led coalition conducted an airstrike on a fuel facility operated by Houthi forces near the Yemeni capital of Sanaa. Maj Gen Turki al-Maliki, a spokesperson for the coalition, confirmed that several projectiles aimed at the Saudi capital and other urban centers were shot down following the attack on the Yemen Petroleum Company’s al-Sabaha facility.
In response to the strike, Houthi militants warned they would target key infrastructure in Saudi Arabia, including the King Khalid International Airport in Riyadh and the Aramco headquarters in Dammam. Al-Maliki later reported that missiles targeting Dammam had also been intercepted, though shrapnel from one explosion landed in a residential area of Dhahran.
The Saudi cabinet, chaired by Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, stated that the Iran-backed group would “bear the consequences” of its recent lethal attacks on the kingdom. The comments followed a series of Houthi strikes on Riyadh’s airport over the weekend that killed 13 people on Saturday and one additional person on Sunday.
Tensions escalated further after a correspondent for AFP news agency reported long queues at petrol stations in Sanaa on Tuesday afternoon. Residents expressed anxiety over potential fuel shortages following warnings of an impending operation against the al-Sabaha oil facility. The Houthi-run Yemen Petroleum Company attempted to calm fears, asserting that the facility held no petroleum stock and that all necessary precautions were in place to maintain supply stability.
Yemen has been torn by civil war since 2014, when Houthi forces ousted the internationally recognized government from Sanaa. The conflict intensified in 2015 when a Saudi-led coalition intervened to restore governmental rule. An informal ceasefire that had held for four years began to fracture in July, when the Houthis announced a maritime embargo against Saudi Arabia and resumed missile and drone attacks on airports, oil facilities, and Red Sea tankers.
The situation worsened in September when the Houthis seized territory along Yemen’s southwestern Red Sea coast near the Bab al-Mandab Strait, a critical chokepoint for global shipping. This advance contributed to a spike in oil prices amid a broader regional conflict involving the US, Israel, and Iran. US President Donald Trump criticized the Houthis on social media, accusing them of deliberately trying to drive up oil prices, while indicating he might ask Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan to intervene.
Humanitarian conditions in Yemen remain dire. According to the UN’s human rights office, hundreds have been killed since August, including at least 54 civilians, half of whom are children. More than 216,000 people have been displaced, and suspected cholera cases have tripled in three weeks, rising from 217 to 647.
The displacement numbers are terrifying. 216,000 people uprooted and cholera tripling—this humanitarian crisis is being completely ignored.
I heard the fuel depot was largely empty anyway. This feels like a calculated move to provoke retaliation rather than strategic necessity.
Another escalation in this endless war. How many civilians have to suffer before diplomacy actually happens?