Houthis Claim Strikes on Riyadh as Saudi-Led Forces Intensify Yemen Offensive
Yemeni government forces backed by the Saudi-led coalition report advances around the Bab al-Mandab Strait, Mocha and Taiz as fighting intensifies across western Yemen
ERBIL (Kurdistan24) — Iran-backed Houthis claimed Monday that they had struck targets in Riyadh, including King Khalid International Airport and an oil refinery operated by Saudi Aramco, as Saudi-led coalition forces intensified military operations against the group in Yemen and Saudi Arabia moved to activate a new mutual defense arrangement with Pakistan and Türkiye.
The escalation came as Saudi Arabia and its Yemeni government allies launched an ambitious offensive aimed at reclaiming territory held by the Houthis, who have controlled large parts of northern and western Yemen, including the capital Sanaa, for more than a decade.
The Yemeni military said it had conducted more than 1,000 strikes and launched an offensive toward Sanaa, while the Saudi-led coalition supporting Yemen's internationally recognized government said around 100 warplanes carried out sorties at dawn.
Saudi-led coalition spokesman Turki Al-Malki said on X that naval forces had struck Houthi military targets in Hodeida on Yemen's Red Sea coast, destroying weapons depots, facilities used to store booby-trapped boats and naval mines.
The operations, he said, also thwarted a planned Houthi attack targeting maritime routes in the southern Red Sea.
The coalition later said its forces had driven the Houthis from areas surrounding the Bab al-Mandab Strait, a strategic maritime chokepoint connecting the Red Sea with the Gulf of Aden. The areas included the port city of Mocha, Dhubab airport and Al-Omari military camp.
Pro-government forces also reported pushing the Houthis out of several areas in Taiz province, where fighting has intensified in recent days.
Military sources, however, stopped short of confirming an official recapture of Mocha, saying pro-government forces had instead cut the Houthis' only remaining supply route to the port.
Houthis claim attacks on Saudi targets
Loud explosions were reported in Riyadh on Monday evening, after a Houthi spokesman claimed the group had targeted King Khalid International Airport, a refinery belonging to Saudi oil giant Aramco and other sites in southern Saudi Arabia.
The Houthis have repeatedly targeted Saudi energy infrastructure and maritime traffic in the Red Sea since the Yemen conflict escalated, while declaring a maritime blockade on Saudi-linked shipping.
A source in the Saudi energy sector told AFP that a Houthi attack on Sunday had again halted pumping through the East-West pipeline to the Red Sea, an important export route for Saudi crude following Iran's blockade of the Strait of Hormuz during the wider Middle East war.
Saudi Aramco CEO Amin Nasser warned Monday that global oil inventories had become "scarily thin" as the wider conflict continued to disrupt energy markets.
"The system is already straining," Nasser told the Energy Intelligence Forum in London.
Saudi Arabia, Pakistan and Türkiye activate defense pact
Against the backdrop of the escalating attacks, senior representatives from Saudi Arabia, Pakistan and Türkiye held an emergency meeting in Riyadh on Monday under a mutual defense agreement signed in August.
The three countries agreed to take measures to provide previously agreed military forces and capabilities and ensure their rapid deployment to Saudi Arabia.
The statement did not specify the precise role the troops would play once deployed or provide details on the size and composition of the forces.
The agreement comes as Saudi Arabia faces increasing security pressure from Houthi attacks and as Riyadh's allies in Yemen seek to reverse years of Houthi territorial gains.
UN warns of sharp escalation
The United Nations expressed concern over the rapid escalation in fighting.
A spokesman for UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said he was "deeply concerned by the sharp escalation in fighting" and condemned continued Houthi cross-border attacks against Saudi Arabia.
The latest escalation has made Yemen one of the most active fronts in the wider Middle East conflict, with more than 184,000 people displaced in recent weeks, according to the United Nations.
The Houthis previously held much of northern Yemen, including Sanaa and Hodeida, but expanded their control along parts of the Red Sea coast and the strategically important Bab al-Mandab Strait last month.
The fighting represents some of Yemen's deadliest violence in years and has added a major new layer of risk to regional maritime traffic and global energy supplies.