Houthis Vow More Saudi Airport, Oil Facility AttacksWorld

Saudi Arabia has faced a widening wave of Houthi strikes over the past week. Riyadh’s international airport has been hit four times, including a Saturday strike that killed 13 people — the deadliest attack in the kingdom in a decade. Authorities have closed the airport until October 17, and airlines have cancelled flights to Saudi Arabia.

In a broad threat, the Houthis urged “international shipping companies”, civilians and workers to evacuate airports and oil facilities, which they declared legitimate military targets. The group says the campaign is retaliation for the kingdom’s backing of Yemeni government forces in the Yemen war that restarted last month, reignited by the US-Iran confrontation in the Gulf.

The Saudi-led coalition said it intercepted a ballistic missile fired by the Houthis towards Riyadh on Wednesday, and several loud booms were heard over the Saudi capital. Authorities had earlier issued an alert for a possible aerial threat in Riyadh before the warning was lifted; it was not immediately clear what caused the booms. According to state news agency SPA, debris from intercepted missiles fell on Riyadh, injuring four people and causing limited damage to 15 homes.

Saudi Arabia’s Energy Ministry said Tuesday’s attack on the Aramco headquarters had caused a limited fire and no injuries or deaths. A company source told Reuters a ballistic missile had hit the complex and damaged the top three floors of an office tower, while other sources said the fire spread across several floors and staff are now working from home. The Dhahran complex hosts a major operations centre for Aramco, overseeing a vast network of onshore and offshore oil rigs, pipelines, refineries and export terminals.

The escalation has dealt a blow to Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman’s plans to diversify the Saudi economy away from oil.

The fighting has also reached one of the world’s busiest shipping lanes. Iran has stepped up strikes around the Strait of Hormuz, with a container ship and a dry bulk carrier both sinking near the strait in the past 24 hours after projectile hits, according to maritime officials. Washington is reportedly considering easing sanctions on so-called shadow-fleet vessels to help ease prices.

Oil markets whipsawed on the news. Brent crude futures fell $1.39, or 1.31%, to $104.67 a barrel in early Thursday trade, while US West Texas Intermediate futures dropped $1.02 to $94.07, reversing the previous session’s gains.

The roots of the conflict stretch back more than a decade. Saudi Arabia intervened in Yemen’s civil war in support of the government in 2015 after the Houthis seized the capital Sanaa. A UN-brokered truce in 2022 kept a fragile peace until this year, when the US-Iran confrontation in the Gulf reignited the fighting.