Riyadh, Saudi Arabia - Riyadh was targeted with a ballistic missile for the first time since the conflict in Yemen resumed, triggering alarm across the region and concern that hostilities with the Houthis could "escalate rapidly."
Loud explosions rang out twice on Saturday in the Saudi capital, where AFP journalists saw a fuel tank bearing the logo of oil giant Aramco on fire near the airport.
"This military conflict has the potential to escalate rapidly," the US State Department warned, adding American citizens outside the Middle East should "seriously reconsider travel to and through the region."
The Houthis' lightning offensive has seized swathes of Yemeni territory in recent weeks, leaving hundreds dead and displacing more than 110,000 people, the UN reports.
These clashes and the subsequent hostilities with the kingdom have already disrupted Saudi Arabia's exports – the world's leading supplier of crude oil – as well as maritime traffic.
US President Donald Trump cut short a weekend at Camp David and unexpectedly returned to the White House on Saturday. It is expected that the situation in Saudi Arabia is behind the decision, but the White House has so-far provided no clear explanation.
The Riyadh-led coalition confirmed Saturday evening on X that a ballistic missile launched by the Houthis towards the capital was "successfully intercepted and destroyed."
The coalition added that the pro-Iranian fighters had tried to target "civilians and civilian infrastructure" in several cities in the west of Saudi Arabia, including the port of Yanbu on the Red Sea, an important export hub.
Saudi Arabia has responded with scores of airstrikes on Houthi-held areas but failed to stop the advance.
The rebels carried out "two successful military operations using a large number of ballistic and cruise missiles and drones," Houthi military spokesman Yahya Saree said in a statement on Telegram.