Saudi-Houthi conflict escalates with attack near Riyadh airport

Smoke and flames erupted near Riyadh’s main airport Saturday after Saudi Arabia issued its first air-raid alert in the capital since the latest escalation with Iran-backed Houthi rebels — raising fresh fears that the widening Middle East war could choke off another critical oil route.

Video showed a massive plume of black smoke rising near King Khalid International Airport after loud booms were heard overnight. Saudi authorities cancelled flights and warned of a possible aerial attack before issuing an all-clear.

The Iran-backed Houthis, who seized new territory along the Red Sea coast last week, are now posing a major new threat to global oil supplies — with crude above $100 a barrel Saturday — after effectively taking control of the Bab el-Mandeb Strait, which Saudi Arabia had been using as an alternative oil export route while the Strait of Hormuz remains in a US-Iran standoff.

There were reports of closed shops and deserted streets and schools in Mokha following the Houthis seizure of the territory from the Saudi-backed government of Yemen. The port city played a key role in the early development of the coffee trade and lent its name to the beverage.

Houthi rebels accused the Saudis on Friday of launching 26 air attacks against them in a 24 hour period. There were reports last week that Saudi Crown Prince Mohammad bin Salman asked President Trump for military support in Saudi’s campaign against the Houthis but the president didn’t agree.

Trump, meanwhile, is spending the weekend at Camp David before a big week of diplomacy at the United Nations, after saying he has to decide whether to “annihilate” the regime in Tehran.

The crunch on global oil supplies continues. The state oil company Saudi Aramco told European customers they won’t get crude oil next month following attacks on the country’s East-West pipeline that it blames on the Houthis, Bloomberg News reported Friday.

But on Saturday, US Central Command commander Admiral Brad Cooper posted a video on X saying American forces have helped push more than one billion barrels of crude oil through the Strait of Hormuz in recent months, while escorting more than 2,000 commercial ship transits — and keeping Iran’s own exports at zero.

“Clearly, momentum is building,” he said. “Primary transit lanes in the Strait are clear of mines.”

Meanwhile, authorities in Iran announced Saturday the execution of Hossein Pedaran, a man they accused of providing information on its nuclear sites to the Mossad. The judiciary provided no information concerning his arrest or trial.