Houthis report attacks on Saudi oil pumping stations and Riyadh airport

Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. Yemen’s Houthis, who are aligned with Iran, said on Monday that they had struck pumping stations serving Saudi Arabia’s East-West crude pipeline and Riyadh’s airport. The claims, which Saudi authorities did not immediately confirm, came amid escalating hostilities that are constraining oil supplies and raising the risk of a broader conflict.

Airport and energy infrastructure targeted

The Houthis identified the airport as King Khalid International Airport, where operations at two terminals resumed on Sunday. An attack claimed by the group earlier this month killed 13 people, making it the kingdom’s deadliest in over a decade.

The group has used drones and ballistic missiles to attack Saudi ports, airports and oil infrastructure, making Saudi Arabia, a US ally, a point of pressure in the wider war.

On Saturday, the Houthis also claimed strikes against the East-West pipeline, oil pumping stations, an Aramco site in Yanbu and the refinery at Rabigh. Saudi Arabia did not confirm those claims.

Saudi Arabia halted operations on the 1,200-km (746-mile) East-West pipeline temporarily in September as a precaution following a drone strike. Riyadh and Baghdad said that attack came from Iraq. The pipeline has provided an important export route for Middle Eastern oil while the war has left the Strait of Hormuz largely closed.

Coalition reports strikes in Yemen

Earlier, the coalition led by Saudi Arabia said it had eliminated two launchers for ballistic missiles in Sanaa, Yemen’s capital. According to the coalition, one had been used to launch a missile towards Riyadh, which it said was intercepted.

The coalition separately said on Monday that an operation against Houthi positions in Yemen had destroyed five tunnels used for ballistic missile storage, four launchers for ballistic missiles and a facility storing missiles.

Regional officials expected in Tehran

Senior officials representing Saudi Arabia, Turkey and Pakistan, the three Mecca Pact members, were due to hold discussions on regional coordination with Iranian officials in Tehran on Monday, according to two people familiar with the matter.

The planned meeting would mark the first senior-level contact involving Iran and every member of the bloc since attacks on Saudi Arabia by Yemen’s Iran-aligned Houthis began escalating.