Yemen’s Iran-aligned Houthis said Saudi Arabia attacked the capital, Sanaa, on Tuesday after a Saudi-led coalition warned civilians to stay away from an oil depot on the city’s outskirts, escalating a conflict threatening regional security and vital shipping routes.
The coalition confirmed it had struck the Yemen Petroleum Company’s Sabah central station and other sites in Sanaa, Hodeidah and Dhamar, saying the operation aimed to neutralise the Houthis’ ability to threaten Saudi Arabia, Yemen and international waterways.
It accused the group of using the sites to supply missiles and drones for attacks on the kingdom and commercial vessels in the Red Sea.
The Yemen Petroleum Company said the targeted facility held no petroleum stocks and that the strike had not affected oil reserves or supply chains.
The Houthis had threatened a “harsh and painful” response to any strikes on Sanaa, warning that potential targets included Saudi Aramco’s headquarters in Dhahran and an oil refinery in Riyadh.
The group also renewed warnings to Saudi oil workers to stay away from sites it could target.
Saudi Arabia’s cabinet, chaired by Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, warned that the Houthis would face consequences for repeated attacks on the kingdom.
The latest escalation follows a ballistic missile strike on Riyadh on Saturday that killed 13 people, marking Saudi Arabia’s deadliest attack in a decade.
Further Houthi strikes have disrupted flights across the country as Saudi Arabia hosts a major energy conference.
Saudi Arabia resumed its military campaign in Yemen to support the internationally recognised government after the Houthis made rapid advances last month, moving down the Red Sea coast towards the strategically vital Bab el-Mandeb Strait.
The narrow passage, which connects the Red Sea to the Gulf of Aden, has become increasingly important to Saudi and global energy supplies since the Iran war began in February and Tehran closed the Strait of Hormuz.
A government offensive launched a week ago pushed Houthi forces away from areas closest to Bab el-Mandeb, but the group remains entrenched nearby and has made fresh gains around Taiz this month.
The renewed fighting is part of the wider US-Iran war, which began with US and Israeli attacks on Iran on 28 February.
Iran, Saudi Arabia’s longstanding regional rival, has offered to mediate between Riyadh and the Houthis, Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi said on Sunday, a position the ministry reiterated on Monday.