Houthi forces claim six attacks on Saudi airports, oil facilities

The announcement comes despite talks earlier this week between Iran and the Mecca pact countries in Tehran this week.

Houthi military spokesman Yahya Saree speaks at a news conference in Sanaa, Yemen [File: Osamah Abdulrahman/AP Photo]

Iran-backed Houthi forces have claimed a total of six attacks on airports and oil facilities across Saudi Arabia despite a rare meeting of Saudi and Iranian senior officials in Tehran earlier this week after which the two sides agreed to resolve differences in the region through dialogue.

Saudi Arabia, Turkiye and Pakistan all sent high-level representatives to the meeting but despite the positive statements, Houthi forces continue to launch missiles and drones at the kingdom and Saudi-backed forces inside Yemen.

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Houthi spokesperson Yahya Saree said in a statement posted on X that the attacks targeted vital commercial and military infrastructure which spanned Saudi Arabia from its east and west coasts to Riyadh and the southern region of Najran.

According to Saree’s statement, the Houthis targeted the Ras Tanura oil refinery with a ballistic missile, an Aramco facility in Abqaiq with a missile, King Khalid International Airport in Riyadh with multiple missiles, King Fahd International Airport in Dammam with a drone, the Rabigh oil refinery with a ballistic missile and a Saudi military headquarters in the Najran region.

There was no independent corroboration of the group’s claims.

The ramped-up combat comes despite the week’s high-level diplomacy, which had been aimed at tamping down flaring regional tensions which have especially inflamed the cross-border fighting between Houthi forces and Saudi Arabia.

After Iran and Mecca defence alliance members Turkiye, Saudi Arabia and Pakistan concluded their meeting in Tehran on Monday, “participants agreed to continue discussions to strengthen cooperation between the four regional countries”, according to an official Iranian press release carried by the Fars news agency.

The meeting, hosted by Iran’s security chief Mohsen Rezaei and attended by Saudi Defence Minister Khalid bin Salman, Pakistan’s army chief Asim Munir and Turkish intelligence chief Ibrahim Kalin, focused on “peace and security in the region”, the statement added.

For its part, the Saudi foreign ministry stressed “the importance of opening channels of negotiation to prevent a return to military escalation” following the meeting.

The announcement by the Houthi spokesman on Thursday came after the Saudi-led coalition said its air defences intercepted and destroyed two ballistic missiles fired by the Houthis towards the capital, according to coalition spokesman Turki al-Maliki.

Saudi Arabia’s Civil Defence said shrapnel from the interception wounded one Saudi citizen in Riyadh. Shrapnel also damaged a house and a vehicle, the agency’s spokesperson told the state-run news agency.

Warning alerts on incoming potential threats had been issued in Riyadh and al-Kharj governorates and in Najran city before those interceptions were announced.

Earlier on Thursday, the internationally recognised Yemeni government issued a statement that called on the UN Security Council to take “deterrent and punitive measures” to stop Houthi attacks on Aden International Airport.

尽管伊朗本周早些时候与麦加条约国家在德黑兰举行了会谈，但仍发布了这一声明。

胡塞武装发言人叶海亚·萨里在也门萨那举行的新闻发布会上发表讲话。[图片：奥萨马·阿卜杜勒拉赫曼/美联社照片]

尽管本周早些时候沙特阿拉伯和伊朗高级官员在德黑兰举行了一次罕见的会晤，会后双方同意通过对话解决该地区的分歧，但伊朗支持的胡塞武装仍声称对沙特阿拉伯境内的六起机场和石油设施袭击事件负责。

沙特阿拉伯、土耳其和巴基斯坦都派出了高级代表参加会议，但尽管发表了积极声明，胡塞武装仍继续向沙特王国和沙特支持的也门境内的部队发射导弹和无人机。

沙特阿拉伯确认2027年亚洲杯将于1月开赛，尽管遭遇袭击（列表1/3）。

沙特领导的联军称其袭击了胡塞武装的导弹设施（共3个，此为第2个）。

沙特领导的联军称击落了胡塞武装向王国发射的导弹和无人机（共3份清单中的第3份）。

胡塞武装发言人叶海亚·萨里在X网站上发表声明称，袭击的目标是沙特阿拉伯重要的商业和军事基础设施，这些基础设施从沙特阿拉伯的东海岸和西海岸一直延伸到利雅得和南部的纳季兰地区。

根据萨里的说法，胡塞武装用弹道导弹袭击了拉斯塔努拉炼油厂，用导弹袭击了阿美石油公司位于阿布盖格的设施，用多枚导弹袭击了利雅得的哈立德国王国际机场，用无人机袭击了达曼的法赫德国王国际机场，用弹道导弹袭击了拉比格炼油厂，并袭击了纳季兰地区的沙特军事总部。

该组织的说法没有得到独立证实。

尽管本周高层外交努力旨在缓和不断升级的地区紧张局势（尤其是加剧了胡塞武装与沙特阿拉伯之间的跨境冲突），但战斗仍在升级。

据伊朗法尔斯通讯社发布的伊朗官方新闻稿称，伊朗与麦加防务联盟成员土耳其、沙特阿拉伯和巴基斯坦周一在德黑兰结束会晤后，“与会者同意继续讨论加强这四个地区国家之间的合作”。

声明补充说，此次会议由伊朗安全局局长穆赫辛·雷扎伊主持，沙特国防部长哈立德·本·萨勒曼、巴基斯坦陆军参谋长阿西姆·穆尼尔和土耳其情报局局长易卜拉欣·卡林出席，会议重点讨论了“地区和平与安全”。

会后，沙特外交部强调“开辟谈判渠道以防止军事冲突再次升级的重要性”。

胡塞武装发言人周四发表声明之前，沙特领导的联军发言人图尔基·马利基表示，联军防空部队拦截并摧毁了胡塞武装向首都发射的两枚弹道导弹。

沙特阿拉伯民防部门称，拦截行动中飞溅的弹片导致一名沙特公民在利雅得受伤。该部门发言人告诉国营通讯社，弹片还损坏了一栋房屋和一辆汽车。

在宣布这些拦截行动之前，利雅得省、哈尔吉省和纳季兰市都已发布了有关潜在威胁的警告警报。

周四早些时候，国际社会承认的也门政府发表声明，呼吁联合国安理会采取“威慑和惩罚措施”，制止胡塞武装对亚丁国际机场的袭击。