YEMEN’S Houthis said they attacked “sensitive” sites in the Saudi capital Riyadh with missiles and drones on Saturday, after explosions and a huge plume of smoke were seen near the city’s main airport.
Saudi civil defence issued alerts overnight warning of potential danger from aerial attacks in Riyadh and nearby Al-Kharj before issuing an all-clear on Saturday morning.
A Reuters journalist in Riyadh’s Olaya district heard booms before the all-clear was issued, while Reuters video and photographs showed a large pillar of black smoke rising near the airport, with flames visible at one point behind what appeared to be fuel tanks.
The Houthis did not specify what they had targeted in Riyadh, but said they had also attacked an Aramco facility in the Red Sea city of Yanbu, a key Saudi oil export hub.
The group said the attacks were in response to an attack in the Yemeni capital Sanaa.
The Saudi-led military coalition fighting the Houthis said its air defences had destroyed a missile fired towards Riyadh early on Saturday.
It also said it had foiled attacks targeting civilians in the southwestern cities of Bish and Farasan, the western city of Taif and Yanbu on the Red Sea coast. It did not give details of any damage.
Saturday’s Houthi claim appeared to mark the group’s first reported strike on Riyadh since the latest escalation began in July.
The Houthis have launched repeated attacks against Saudi Arabia since July, including strikes targeting Saudi cities, energy infrastructure and shipping in the Red Sea.
The escalation has raised concerns over threats to global oil supplies and the Red Sea route used for Gulf energy exports, as shipping through the Strait of Hormuz remains disrupted.
The Houthis have described their campaign as a response to the wider regional conflict, while Saudi Arabia has sought to counter the attacks with its air defences.
Iranian official Mohsen Rezaei, secretary of the Supreme National Security Council, said Tehran wanted the conflict between Saudi Arabia and the Houthis to end and that consultations with Qatari and Pakistani mediators were continuing over stalled US-Iran negotiations.
Rezaei said Iran had conveyed its conditions for re-engaging in negotiations with Washington, including “ending the war on all fronts”, and was awaiting a response from US President Donald Trump.
The United Nations Security Council on Friday condemned continued Houthi attacks against Saudi Arabia, including strikes affecting civilian and energy infrastructure, and condemned what it called the group’s military escalation in Yemen. - September 20, 2026
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