Houthis bring the war to Riyadh
USO•The Houthis said they would keep targeting Saudi airports and oil facilities after a missile aimed at Riyadh was intercepted and a strike hit Saudi Aramco’s headquarters in Dhahran. Earlier attacks on Riyadh’s airport killed at least 13 people and wounded more than 300, while Saudi airport cancellations reached 46.4%.
1. Attacks reach Riyadh
The Houthis said they would continue hitting Saudi airports and oil facilities, and urged civilians, workers and international shipping companies to leave them. Saudi Arabia’s coalition said it intercepted a ballistic missile aimed at Riyadh on Wednesday, a day after a strike on Saudi Aramco’s headquarters in Dhahran. The energy ministry described the fire there as limited, while sources said it spread across several floors; Aramco staff are working from home.
2. Oil and investment pressures
The strikes are testing Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman’s plan to overhaul the economy while keeping the kingdom out of regional wars. Aramco ran its East-West pipeline at its maximum capacity of 7 million barrels per day after the Strait of Hormuz was effectively shut, and reported a 25% jump in first-quarter profit. The Houthis later declared a naval blockade, attacked Saudi vessels and the pipeline, and seized Yemen’s Red Sea coastline and the Bab el-Mandeb Strait.
3. Civil aviation concerns
Saturday’s strike on Riyadh’s airport killed at least 13 people and wounded more than 300. Cancellations across Saudi airports reached 46.4%, while Flightradar24 showed planes avoiding Riyadh on Monday. Saudi Arabia’s last public alert before the deadly strike was sent on September 29; officials told Western counterparts the alerts had been disruptive, and the alerts resumed on Monday.
