U.S. fears rapid escalation of Houthi-Saudi conflict

RIYADH, Saudi Arabia (AFP) — The United States warned Saturday that hostilities between Saudi Arabia and Iran-backed Houthis could “escalate rapidly” after a missile attack targeted Riyadh for the first time since the Yemen conflict resumed.

US President Donald Trump cut short a weekend at Camp David, a secluded presidential complex in rural Maryland, to return unexpectedly to the White House on Saturday.

The White House gave no explanation for the early return, which comes as a new threshold was crossed in the conflict between Saudi Arabia and the Houthis, who control a large part of Yemen and are fighting government forces backed by a coalition led by Riyadh.

Loud explosions rang out twice on Saturday in the Saudi capital, where Agence France-Presse (AFP) journalists saw a fuel tank bearing the logo of oil giant Aramco on fire near the airport.

“This military conflict has the potential to escalate rapidly,” the US State Department warned, adding American citizens outside the Middle East should “seriously reconsider travel to and through the region.”

The Houthis’ lightning offensive seizing swathes of Yemeni territory in recent weeks has left hundreds dead and, according to the United Nations, displaced more than 110,000 people.

‘Thwarted’

These clashes and the subsequent hostilities with the kingdom have already disrupted Saudi Arabia’s exports — the world’s leading supplier of crude oil — as well as maritime traffic.

The Riyadh-led coalition confirmed Saturday evening on X that a ballistic missile launched by the Houthis towards the capital was “successfully intercepted and destroyed.”

The coalition added that the pro-Iranian fighters had tried to target “civilians and civilian infrastructure” in several cities in the west of the kingdom, including the port of Yanbu on the Red Sea, an important export hub for Saudi oil.

It said these attacks were “thwarted by the Gulf monarchy’s air defenses.”

Saudi Arabia has responded with scores of airstrikes on Houthi-held areas but failed to stop the advance.

The Houthis said it had responded to recent Saudi attacks by carrying out “two successful military operations using a large number of ballistic and cruise missiles and drones,” Houthi military spokesperson Yahya Saree said in a statement on Telegram.

“The first targeted sensitive sites in the Saudi capital, Riyadh, and the second targeted Aramco facilities in Yanbu.”

Saudi authorities had earlier issued an overnight air raid alert.

Hours after the early morning alert, residents told AFP on condition of anonymity that they heard what sounded like a round of explosions echoing through parts of the Saudi capital.