Yemen War Escalates as Houthis Claim Riyadh Strike

Iran-aligned Houthi forces said they attacked an oil facility south of Riyadh with ballistic missiles and drones, describing the strike as retaliation for Saudi attacks in Yemen. Saudi strikes reportedly hit Sanaa, where correspondents heard explosions and saw aircraft firing missiles. Houthi-affiliated media reported 26 strikes on the capital, while fires and smoke were observed at an Aramco facility near Riyadh. The Houthis also reported missile strikes on telecommunications infrastructure in Saada. The attacks are part of a sharp escalation in Yemen’s civil war, which resumed in July after several years of relative calm and a fragile truce. The renewed conflict followed Saudi retaliation for an unauthorised Iranian flight to Sanaa carrying a Houthi delegation. The Houthis subsequently attacked Saudi territory and launched an offensive along the Bab al-Mandab Strait, taking coastal areas and imposing a naval blockade on Saudi shipping in the Red Sea. Fighting has also intensified around Taiz, where sources reported dozens of deaths. The Houthis said 55 of their fighters were killed, while government sources reported 26 troops killed. Saudi Arabia said a Houthi projectile damaged a school in Najran. Riyadh has reportedly sought US assistance, but President Donald Trump has so far declined. The renewed hostilities are worsening Yemen’s severe humanitarian crisis. The World Food Programme warned that three-quarters of Yemen’s population could not meet basic food needs. Separately, Iraq’s state-owned Oil Tanker Company said it had transported two million barrels of Iraqi crude through the Strait of Hormuz aboard a large crude carrier, its first such operation in decades. The move gives state oil marketer SOMO more flexibility over where and how to sell the oil. The company plans to acquire specialised tankers to expand its fleet. Iraq has previously obtained Iranian permission for its tankers to transit the strait, which Iran has effectively closed during its conflict with the United States.

Yemen’s Houthi rebels say they launched a missile-and-drone attack on an Aramco oil refinery in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, on Saturday, causing fires at the targeted sites. Houthi military spokesperson Brigadier Yahya Saree described the operation as retaliation for what he called a siege and Saudi airstrikes. The article does not independently confirm the claim. Saudi Arabia’s coalition supporting Yemen’s government called the Houthi statement “misleading.” In a separate incident last month, the Houthis claimed an attack on an Aramco facility in Yanbu; Riyadh said it intercepted the missiles and that no damage occurred. The reported attack comes amid a sharp escalation in the conflict between Saudi Arabia and the Iranian-backed Houthis. The Saudi-led coalition said it conducted operations against Houthi forces early Sunday, claiming hundreds of fighters were killed. Saree vowed continued attacks on Saudi military mobilisations until what he described as the aggression and siege against Yemen ended. The article places the latest claims within a wider resurgence of Yemen’s civil war. Recent violence has reportedly killed hundreds and displaced tens of thousands. The Houthis also captured the strategic city of Mokha and several Red Sea islands last month, extending their reach toward the Bab el-Mandeb Strait, a key maritime passage. The territorial gains are described as the rebels’ largest in years and as having ended a 2022 ceasefire that had largely halted major fighting. Overall, the report presents competing claims from the Houthis and the Saudi-led coalition while emphasizing the renewed violence and its consequences, without establishing whether the Riyadh refinery was hit.

Yemen’s Houthi rebels say they attacked a Saudi Aramco facility in Riyadh with ballistic missiles and drones, amid renewed escalation in Yemen’s war. In a statement posted on X, Houthi military spokesman Yahya Saree described the operation as precise and said it caused fires at the target. A large plume of smoke and flames was seen near an Aramco facility on Saturday. However, Saudi authorities have not reported an attack, and Aramco has not commented on what caused the fire, leaving the Houthis’ account unconfirmed in the article. The Saudi-led coalition, which supports Yemen’s internationally recognised government, said early Sunday that its forces conducted 97 targeting operations against Houthi reinforcements on the Tor al-Baha front and the Taiz axis. A government forces spokesman said the strikes targeted at least 260 Houthi fighters and destroyed or disabled 44 military vehicles. The reported operations involved aircraft, drones, artillery, missiles and snipers. The report places the alleged Riyadh strike within a broader pattern of attacks and intensifying conflict. The Houthis said they had targeted Aramco facilities in Yanbu late the previous month; Saudi Arabia said it intercepted six missiles aimed toward Taif and Yanbu and reported no damage to Aramco sites. The coalition also said the Houthis attacked a power station in Medina earlier in the week. Fighting has intensified since a fragile truce collapsed in July 2026. In mid-September, the Houthis seized Mocha and strategic islands in the Bab al-Mandeb Strait, a key route for global oil shipments, before anti-Houthi forces stabilised the front lines. The renewed conflict has displaced hundreds of thousands of people. Yemen’s war began in 2014, when the Houthis seized Sanaa and the government retreated to Aden.

Senior Trump administration officials met at Camp David for several hours on Friday to discuss the U.S.-Israel war with Iran and the escalating conflict between Yemen’s Iran-backed Houthis and the Saudi-backed Yemeni government. Participants included Vice President JD Vance, Secretary of State Marco Rubio, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, Special Envoy Steve Witkoff, CIA Director John Ratcliffe and Joint Chiefs Chairman Dan Caine. The Iran war began with U.S. and Israeli strikes on February 28 and has continued for more than seven months; renewed Houthi-Saudi fighting has intensified after a four-year ceasefire ended. President Trump said that even if the United States ended the war immediately, Iran would need years to rebuild damaged infrastructure. He also said European leaders had agreed to release diesel reserves to help curb high prices. The International Energy Agency reported that member countries had released 325 million barrels of oil and related products from strategic reserves, out of 400 million promised in March. G7 countries separately agreed to release 100 million barrels of diesel and crude oil amid energy supply concerns. The war’s effect on shipping through the Strait of Hormuz has restricted diesel supplies, while Ukrainian strikes on Russian refineries have also affected markets. The Strait remained a focus of security concerns: an unknown projectile struck a tanker, damaging its engine room but leaving its crew safe, according to the UK Maritime Trade Operations Center. No environmental impacts were reported. Hegseth described the U.S. blockade of the strait as “ironclad” and said Trump had options if Iran continued to challenge it, reiterating that the administration would not allow Iran to obtain a nuclear weapon. Separately, Yemen’s Houthis claimed they attacked an oil facility near Riyadh with missiles and drones, while accusing Saudi Arabia of striking Sanaa. An AFP journalist reported seeing smoke and flames near an Aramco facility south of Riyadh. Saudi officials had not publicly commented, and the cause and responsibility for the attack were still being assessed.

Yemeni government forces said they struck Houthi targets in Sanaa and Saada on Sunday, following the Houthis’ claim that they had attacked an Aramco oil facility south of Riyadh with ballistic missiles and drones. The rebel group said the operation was retaliation for Saudi strikes on territory it controls and claimed it had caused fires at the targeted sites. Images showed flames and heavy smoke at the facility, but Saudi authorities had not confirmed an attack, and Aramco did not comment on the cause of the fire. The exchanges are unfolding alongside intensified fighting around Taiz, a strategically important city divided between government and Houthi control. Government spokesman Col Majed Abdullah Al Nuzaili said forces had conducted 97 precision operations on fronts in Taiz and Lahij, claiming they had neutralised 260 Houthi fighters and damaged or destroyed military and supply vehicles. He had also previously reported 257 attacks across several fronts and at least 700 Houthi fighters killed. The article notes that these claims could not be independently verified. The escalation comes as Saudi Arabia reportedly considers a wider offensive against the Iran-backed Houthis, including operations on multiple fronts intended to push the group back and secure Red Sea shipping routes. Meanwhile, civilians in Taiz face repeated displacement, worsening hunger, rising food prices and reduced access to aid. The World Food Programme reported that 74 per cent of households in accessible areas could not meet basic food needs—the highest level recorded there this year. Aid advocates warn that a major population movement could overwhelm humanitarian response efforts.

The Straits Times’ “While You Were Sleeping” roundup covers five international stories published on Oct 4, 2026. In Yemen, the Houthis accused Saudi Arabia of carrying out 26 air strikes on Sanaa. Separately, an AFP journalist reported seeing smoke and flames near an oil facility outside Riyadh, though Saudi officials and the Houthis had not commented on the reported fire. The account situates the attacks within the ongoing Yemen war and recent Houthi strikes on Saudi oil facilities. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu invited Indian flydubai captain Smit Machchhar to attend Israel’s Independence Day ceremony as a guest of honour and light a ceremonial flame with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi. Netanyahu praised Machchhar as a hero after the captain reportedly described saving a Tel Aviv-bound flight following an attack; Machchhar was hospitalised at the time of the call. Former Russian prime minister Mikhail Kasyanov told AFP that Vladimir Putin was not prepared to negotiate an end to the war in Ukraine. Kasyanov said Putin may understand that invading Ukraine in 2022 was a mistake but cannot admit it and is likely to continue on his current course, despite economic problems and unease in Russia. Tennessee’s corrections commissioner is stepping down after a failed attempt to execute Christa Pike by lethal injection. Pike was left unconscious and on a ventilator, according to a court filing by her lawyers. The attempt was Tennessee’s second failed execution this year, and Governor Bill Lee has paused executions for the remainder of 2026. In football, England defeated Croatia 7-0 in a Nations League match in Rijeka. Harry Kane and Bukayo Saka scored twice each; Jude Bellingham scored and made three assists. England are second in their group behind Spain, while Croatia have three points and the Czech team have none.