Houthis threaten Saudi Arabia’s Aramco facilities and airports

Yemen's Houthis have cautioned all employees and civilians near Saudi Arabia's oil facilities to evacuate, calling the sites "a legitimate target".

Key points

• "We heard the explosion upon Saudi Arabia targeting the Yemeni oil al-Sabah Central Station here in the capital Sanaa, " Al Jazeera correspondent Yousef Mawry remarked.
• Civilians were informed to evacuate the Aramco Business headquarters in Dammam, King Khalid International Airport and a refinery affiliated with Aramco in Riyadh.
• An attack on King Khalid airport on Saturday left at least 13 individuals dead and more than 300 injured, rocking the world's top crude oil exporter.
• After the noted explosions, Saree noted Houthi fighters were confronting Saudi-backed forces in Sanaa.
• "The Ansar Allah Houthi group have not yet launched any attacks, but people are expecting there to be retaliations, " Mawry remarked.

Meanwhile, the warning on Tuesday from the group's spokesman, Yahya Saree, was prompted by an evacuation order from the Saudi-led coalition urging civilians to evacuate Yemeni Oil Company's al-Sabah central station in the Houthi-controlled capital Sanaa.

Shortly after the Saudi-led coalition's evacuation order, Al Jazeera's team on the ground documented hearing explosions in Sanaa. Media outlets affiliated with the Houthis remarked air strikes by the Saudi-backed forces struck an oil facility in the al-Sabaha area of the capital.

Saudi Arabia additionally conducted two other air strike campaigns on the Ras Isa port targeting Yemeni oil storage tanks and on an oil station in the Houthi-controlled Hodeidah province, according to Mawry.

Saree responded to the coalition's evacuation order, warning that any strikes on Sanaa would be met with a "harsh and painful" response in the Saudi Arabian capital Riyadh.

In an official note on X, Saree remarked the Houthis would target the sites that were ordered to be evacuated if the Saudi-led coalition proceeded with an attack on Sanaa.

In practice, an attack on King Khalid airport on Saturday left at least 13 individuals dead and more than 300 injured, rocking the world's top crude oil exporter. Another person was killed, and 11 were wounded on Sunday after a projectile struck the airport in Riyadh.

Plenty of international airlines have since suspended flights to Saudi ⁠⁠Arabia and ⁠⁠neighbouring countries after the deadly weekend attacks by the Houthis, including Air France-KLM, Air India, Etihad, Lufthansa, Delta, Gulf Air and Qatar Airways.

Meanwhile, the kingdom, which backs Yemen's internationally recognised administration, was still weathering new attacks on Tuesday, with the coalition saying its forces intercepted three drones north of Riyadh.

Saree additionally reiterated the Houthis' warning to airports in Saudi Arabia after recent attacks on multiple airports and oil facilities nationwide since last week in a spillover from the wider regional conflict between the US and Iran.

Saudi Arabia has in recent ⁠⁠weeks introduced strikes against the Houthis and is backing a Yemeni administration counteroffensive known as the "Dawn of Yemen" after the group seized strategic territory along the Red Sea coast ‌‌last month.

Saudi Arabia's cabinet, chaired ⁠by Crown Prince ⁠Mohammed bin Salman, remarked on Tuesday the Houthis would face "consequences" for their attacks throughout the kingdom, according to the Saudi Press Agency.

In short, houthis threaten Saudi Arabia's Aramco facilities and airports is the central thread here, and readers can expect follow-up reporting as the picture becomes clearer.