Houthis claim attacks on Saudi capital, thick smoke seen near Riyadh airport

Yemen’s Houthis said that they attacked “sensitive” sites in the Saudi capital Riyadh with missiles and drones, hours after flames and a large plume of smoke were seen near the city’s main airport, the Guardian reported on Saturday.

Saudi Arabia sent s overnight warning of potential danger around Riyadh. This marks the first time the government has issued such s for Riyadh since fighting with the Iran-backed Houthis escalated in July.

Meanwhie, governments across the Middle East are preparing for an escalation of violence after Iran claimed it had received intelligence that Washington was preparing for a renewed bombing campaign against the Islamic Republic.

The Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) warned that if an attack does take place, “all US bases and interests in the region will become targets of continuous, effective and painful attacks without any limitations or considerations”.

Market reaction

At the time of writing, the West Texas Intermediate (WTI) is down 1.74% on the day at $93.60.