Riyadh All-Clear After Overnight Strikes as Saudi-Houthi Fight Widens
Saudi authorities said the danger had passed in Riyadh after air-raid alerts and explosions in the capital late Friday night and Saturday morning local time. Journalists from Reuters and AFP in the city reported hearing blasts. Saudi Civil Defence had issued alerts for Riyadh and several other regions during the night.
Civil Defence later told Riyadh residents the danger was over and urged them to avoid gathering in crowds. The alerts were the first there since the Houthis increased attacks and declared a "maritime embargo" on Saudi Arabia in July, BBC. A maritime embargo in this case means a declared effort to block ships linked to Saudi Arabia.
Houthi military spokesman Yahya Sarea said the Houthis launched drones and missiles at Saudi Arabia in retaliation for more than 450 Saudi airstrikes on Houthi territory over the past week. Last week, the Houthis attacked several Saudi oil facilities with drones and missiles, causing fires that temporarily halted operations.
At sea, the Houthis recently seized the port city of Mokha and Perim Island, a gateway to a shipping route Saudi Arabia uses for exports to Asia and Europe. The Houthis said their naval blockade was retaliation for a Saudi blockade of ports and airports in Houthi-controlled northwestern Yemen. The UN Security Council held an emergency meeting on Tuesday where Yemen's government and Saudi Arabia called for more decisive action against the Houthis over alleged choking of the Bab al-Mandab Strait, the narrow passage between Yemen and East Africa that works like a doorway for global shipping.
Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman personally asked US President Donald Trump to take military action against the Houthis, according to two sources cited by CBS News. Trump declined direct US military involvement and offered intelligence and targeting support instead, according to sources cited by CBS News. That type of support means sharing information to help plan airstrikes, not carrying out strikes.
Saudi and Yemeni air forces stepped up aerial bombardment of Houthi targets in response to Houthi advances, Reuters. Yemen's Houthi movement fired missiles at Saudi Arabia after accusing the kingdom of bombing an airport under Houthi control, Reuters. Saudi Civil Defence also maintains a system of fixed siren and early warning tests, including warning messages using a new tone, according to standing notices from the Saudi Press Agency.
The broader context here is a conflict now running on several fronts at once. Riyadh faces direct air threat. Saudi energy sites face disruption risk. Commercial ships near Bab al-Mandab face pressure. Mokha and Perim matter because they overlook narrow water where delays can push up insurance rates, force rerouting and disrupt export schedules, even without a full closure. The pattern to watch is not only how far Houthi drones and missiles can fly or how often they launch. It is how land gains, sea declarations and strike tempo line up together.
Looking to what could come next, two constraints stand out. Washington is willing to provide intelligence and targeting help but not to strike directly. That leaves Riyadh and Yemen's government to keep up air operations while absorbing return strikes. The Security Council session points to a push to bring in other countries to police the strait. No resolution came from that meeting. The question now is whether naval deterrence, air bombardment or talks over port and airport access breaks the cycle of retaliation. Each side describes its blockade as a response to the other's, and that back-and-forth makes de-escalation harder and raises the cost of a mistake in Riyadh, in Mokha and at sea.
