The threat of a wider war in the Arabian Peninsula is accelerating. Houthi rebels in Yemen are once again targeting Saudi infrastructure and military sites, escalating a conflict that could further draw in other regional powers. The Saudi-led coalition has launched new airstrikes on oil installations across Houthi-controlled Yemen, in response to deadly Riyadh airport attacks. Ali Rogin reports.
Geoff Bennett:
The threat of a wider war on the Arabian Peninsula grows tonight. Houthi rebels in Yemen are once again targeting Saudi military installations and critical infrastructure, raising fears of a broader regional conflict that could draw in other powers.
Amna Nawaz:
The Saudi-led coalition has launched new airstrikes on oil installations across Houthi-controlled Yemen, in response to a deadly attack on an international airport in the Saudi capital of Riyadh. This weekend attack killed at least 13 people and injured more than 300.
Ali Rogin has this report.
Ali Rogin:
In Yemen’s main port city on the Red Sea coast today, plumes of smoke filled the blue sky, part of a Saudi-led bombing campaign targeting Houthi-controlled territory and oil installations.
And, in eastern Saudi Arabia, loud bangs echoed through the night sky. Saudi officials said fragments of an intercepted missile launched by the Houthis fell in a residential area. It follows weekend attacks by the Iran-backed Houthis that plunged a crowded Riyadh airport into chaos.
Saturday’s attack at King Khalid International Airport killed at least 13 people and injured more than 300, with the dead including a 28-year-old Egyptian flight attendant and a Jordanian father of two who worked at a cafe inside the airport. His father called the death an indescribable loss.
Hassan Al-Barqawi, father of airport attack victim (through interpreter): I hope that no other human being will ever experience what I experienced, because no one can understand this loss except the one who suffered it.
Ali Rogin:
For Saudi Arabia, the inability of its air defense to intercept incoming missiles and drones has further raised fears and questions about how far the kingdom is prepared to go in response, a sentiment that Saudi Arabia’s energy minister echoed yesterday.
Prince Abdulaziz Bin Salman, Saudi Minister of Energy:
The events of recent weeks are serious. Our response must be just as serious. For Saudi Arabia, these circumstances have tested our infrastructure, our institution, our people and our resilience.
Ali Rogin:
Earlier today, the Houthis renewed their warning against the use of Saudi airspace, calling the country — quote — “the kingdom of Satan’s horn” and released footage purportedly showing attacks on Saudi-backed government forces northeast of Yemen’s capital, Sanaa.
Saudi allies, including Turkey, have called on the Houthis to immediately end the strikes.
Recep Tayyip Erdogan, Turkish President (through interpreter):
Turkey stands with Saudi Arabia and its Saudi brothers in the face of illegal and inhumane attacks.
Ali Rogin:
Turkish President Recep Erdogan also said he would submit a defense agreement between Saudi Arabia, Turkey and Pakistan to Parliament for ratification in the coming days. This comes as Saudi Arabia pushes Washington for more direct military support.
President Donald Trump:
The Houthis have done very badly.
Ali Rogin:
Today, President Trump weighed in, saying he spoke with the Saudi crown prince.
Question:
Have you spoken to the Saudi crown prince?
President Donald Trump:
I did it, yes. I spoke to him.
Question:
And what did you offer him?
President Donald Trump:
Well, I can’t tell you. Do you really think I could tell you that? I would love to tell you, but I’m not going to tell you.
Ali Rogin:
But the United States has not sent military assets to attack Yemen, which could further threaten shipping through Bab al-Mandab, a vital shipping route and southern gateway to the Red Sea, particularly key to Saudi Arabia’s oil exports, which the Houthis have targeted.
Meanwhile, as threats grow, the consequences are already visible: a Yemeni city engulfed in smoke, an airport turned into rubble, and mounting funerals for civilians caught in the crossfire.
For the PBS News Hour, I’m Ali Rogin.
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