US warns of rapid escalation in Mideast war after Houthi attack on Riyadh

The United States warned Saturday that fighting between Saudi Arabia and Iran-backed Houthis could "escalate rapidly" after a Houthi missile attack targeted Riyadh, the first on the Saudi capital since Yemen's civil war resumed. The Houthis said they also targeted Aramco facilities in Yanbu.

Why did the US warn of rapid escalation in the Mideast war?

The Houthi missile attack on Riyadh crossed a new threshold in the conflict between Saudi Arabia and the Houthis, who control a large part of Yemen. The US State Department said the conflict has the potential to escalate rapidly and urged American citizens outside the Middle East to "seriously reconsider travel to and through the region."

What happened in the Houthi attack on Riyadh?

Loud explosions rang out in the Saudi capital on Saturday. AFP journalists saw a fuel tank bearing the logo of oil giant Aramco on fire near the airport.

The Riyadh-led coalition confirmed that a Houthi ballistic missile was "successfully intercepted and destroyed." It added that the Iran-aligned fighters tried to target "civilians and civilian infrastructure" in several cities in the west of the kingdom, including the Red Sea port of Yanbu, an important export hub for Saudi oil.

Houthi military spokesman Yahya Saree claimed responsibility. He said fighters carried out "two successful military operations using a large number of ballistic and cruise missiles and drones." The first, he said, targeted "sensitive sites in the Saudi capital, Riyadh," and the second targeted Aramco facilities in Yanbu.

Saudi Arabia has moved to contain the fallout. On Sunday, several major Saudi papers did not mention the attack on Riyadh.

Why does the Riyadh attack matter?

Andreas Krieg of King's College London said the attack, the first to threaten the Saudi capital since the civil war resumed, crossed "an important psychological threshold." He told AFP that Saudi Arabia can absorb intermittent attacks on remote military or energy installations more easily than repeated threats to Riyadh itself.

"Strikes around airports, fuel storage and populated areas make restraint politically and strategically much harder to sustain," Krieg said.

The attack adds pressure on a global economy already rocked by seven months of war in the Middle East. That war began in February with US-Israeli strikes on Iran, and the Islamic republic has responded with attacks around the region.

What did Trump say about the Houthis?

President Donald Trump said Sunday that Yemen's Houthis have agreed not to attack the United States, Fox News reported. The Iran-allied group has meanwhile stepped up its war against US ally Saudi Arabia.

Fox News reporter Trey Yingst, who often talks to Trump, cited the president saying that Washington is "in constant communication with the Houthis and that they've agreed not to fight the United States." Trump has made the claim before. "The Houthis called us and they don't want to fight with us," he said during a visit to Ireland on September 12.

Fox News also reported that Trump is in "deciding mode" on Iran, where US and Israeli forces launched a massive aerial bombing campaign on February 28 before settling into a now almost-seven-month standoff. Yingst said Trump told him that "big things will be happening in the not so distant future" and that "Iranians better behave."

Trump cut short a weekend at Camp David to return unexpectedly to the White House. The White House gave no explanation for the early return.

How is the Houthi offensive affecting Yemen and Saudi Arabia?

The Houthis have staged a rapid offensive inside Yemen, seizing swaths of territory from the internationally recognized government, which Saudi Arabia backs. The offensive has left hundreds dead and displaced more than 110,000 people, according to the UN refugee agency.

A fragile truce reached in 2022 collapsed in July, and the Houthis launched an all-out offensive against the government this month. Saudi Arabia has responded with scores of airstrikes on Houthi-held areas but has failed to stop the advance.

The violence has already disrupted exports from Saudi Arabia, the world's leading supplier of crude oil, as well as maritime traffic. The conflict in Yemen predates the Middle East war, but the recent escalation has made the country, one of the world's poorest, the most active front of the wider violence.

How are the US and regional powers responding?

Washington has sent mixed signals to Saudi Arabia. According to Axios, the US refused a Saudi request last week to strike the Houthis, but it has since approved a longer-term $24.3 billion sale of 48 F-35 fighter jets.

On Sunday, CIA Director John Ratcliffe met Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi in a rare visit to Cairo. Days earlier, Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman was also in the Egyptian capital, where he and Sisi urged safe navigation through Bab al-Mandab after the Houthis seized the Yemeni coast.

Bab al-Mandab is a Red Sea waterway that is crucial to energy flows and global shipping. It has become even more strategic since Iran imposed a blockade on the Strait of Hormuz.

Turkey's Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan condemned the Houthis' latest attacks and told broadcaster NTV that Ankara had held discussions with Saudi Arabia and Pakistan, partners in a mutual defense pact, about possible assistance. "In this regard, military needs, especially in state technical matters, may happen. There would be no problem in meeting this demand either," he said.

How does the Houthi attack fit into the wider Middle East war?

Iran-backed groups have joined the war, with Hezbollah in Lebanon and the Houthis in Yemen carrying out attacks against their foes. Iran's top negotiator said Tehran has conveyed to the US, through mediators, its conditions for reopening the Strait of Hormuz, which it has blockaded throughout the war.