Saudi-led coalition strikes Houthi fuel and military sites in Yemen

As fighting between Saudi Arabia and Iran-backed Houthi rebels intensifies, a Saudi-led coalition launched sweeping airstrikes against major oil facilities and military support sites in Houthi-controlled areas of Yemen, including the capital Sanaa.

The coalition said Tuesday it had struck key fuel and military support facilities to degrade the Houthis' capacity to wage war.

Coalition spokesperson Turki al-Maliki said the Joint Forces Command had confirmed that Houthi rebels were exploiting civilian facilities and critical infrastructure for military purposes, prompting a precision military operation to neutralize them.

Al-Maliki said the strikes targeted the Al-Sabaha central depot in Sanaa — a fueling and charging facility — along with below-ground reserve fuel storage sites and fuel transport and offloading tanks and docks in Hodeidah, Sanaa and Dhamar.

"The Houthi militia has directly diverted resources that rightfully belong to the Yemeni people to fund terrorist activities," he said, adding that the facilities had been used to replenish missile and drone arsenals threatening the safety of airports, ports and commercial vessels in Saudi Arabia and on the Red Sea.

Earlier, Al Masirah television, operated by the Houthis, reported that the coalition had struck the Al-Sabaha central depot of the Yemen Petroleum Company on the outskirts of Sanaa, but said no petroleum products had been stored there.

The strikes came shortly after the coalition issued emergency evacuation orders to civilians near the targeted facilities. They are widely seen as retaliation for a recent Houthi attack that inflicted severe damage on Riyadh's international airport.

The Houthis had been targeting major airports for a week in response to Saudi Arabia's involvement in the Yemeni civil war. On Saturday, a missile strike on King Khalid International Airport in Riyadh killed 13 people — the deadliest attack on Saudi soil in a decade.

Saudi Arabia's cabinet, chaired by Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, vowed a strong response. The Houthis then threatened to strike key oil facilities — the backbone of the Saudi economy — and launched missile attacks on Riyadh and the Eastern Province, where state oil giant Aramco is headquartered. Saudi Arabia's Civil Defense Authority issued alerts warning of potential danger in Riyadh and the Eastern Province on Tuesday evening before lifting them within minutes.

The coalition said it had intercepted Houthi ballistic missiles aimed at Dhahran, Dammam and Harad, where Aramco is based. Loud explosions were heard during the intercepts, and debris from a downed missile fell on a residential area in Dhahran, the coalition added.

AFP reported that explosions were also heard in Riyadh after alerts were issued there. It was not immediately clear whether any damage occurred in the capital.

The reignited Yemeni civil war is escalating rapidly, compounded by the spillover effects of the broader conflict between the United States and Iran. Since Iran closed the Strait of Hormuz in February, the Houthis have seized control of the Bab el-Mandeb Strait — an alternative energy shipping route at the mouth of the Red Sea — cutting off Saudi oil export lanes. Saudi Arabia has launched a major military operation to push back Houthi forces that have advanced close to the strait.

Amid the escalation, US President Donald Trump and Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan each spoke by phone with Crown Prince Mohammed on Tuesday to discuss the situation.

Iran, Saudi Arabia's chief regional rival and a longtime backer of the Houthis, said Tuesday it was prepared to mediate between the two sides.