Saudi Arabia came under missile attack for the first time since fighting resumed in Yemen, prompting the United States to warn that hostilities between Riyadh and the Iran-backed Houthis could escalate rapidly.
Loud explosions were heard twice on Saturday in the Saudi capital, where AFP journalists saw a fuel storage tank bearing the Aramco logo on fire near the airport. The strike marks a new and dangerous threshold in the conflict between Saudi Arabia and the Houthis, who control large parts of Yemen and are battling government forces backed by a Riyadh-led coalition.
The US State Department said the conflict “has the potential to escalate rapidly,” and advised American citizens outside the Middle East to reconsider travel to and through the region.
President Donald Trump cut short a weekend at Camp David to return unexpectedly to the White House on Saturday. The White House offered no explanation for the early return.
The Houthis have seized swathes of Yemeni territory in a rapid offensive in recent weeks, leaving hundreds dead and displacing more than 110,000 people, according to the United Nations.
