Houthis warn Saudi Arabia of harsh response in Riyadh over any attack on Sanaa

A Houthi spokesperson says any Saudi strike on Sanaa will draw retaliation in Riyadh, after weeks of strikes that have already reached the Saudi capital.

Yemen's Houthi movement has warned Saudi Arabia that any attack on Sanaa will be met with a harsh response in Riyadh, a spokesperson said.

The warning follows a run of strikes that has moved from Yemen's periphery into the Saudi capital itself. Riyadh Airport has suffered confirmed damage, prompting flight suspensions, and Gulf Air and Delta Air Lines have both cancelled flights. Saudi Arabia has issued repeated hostile-threat alerts in Riyadh, including two on Monday, at 8:35am and 2:02pm. Three explosions were heard in Riyadh hours before the second of those alerts, repeating a pattern seen earlier the same day. The Houthis have claimed strikes on Riyadh Airport and the Khamis Mushait air base; Saudi Arabia has not confirmed either claim.

Riyadh Airport extended its flight suspension after the confirmed damage, following renewed attacks on Sunday that also struck Dammam Airport. Saudi Civil Aviation said on Sunday it was still assessing the extent of the damage at Dammam, with no disruption confirmed at that point.

Diplomacy has not slowed the pace of the strikes. Iran's foreign minister, Araghchi, said he had offered Saudi Arabia mediation after the Houthi strikes, but Riyadh confirmed only that a call took place and made no mention of any mediation offer. The Pentagon has drafted a three-day plan for a strike on Iran, though President Trump has said any US strike will wait until after the November 3 election.

A direct Houthi threat against Riyadh raises the odds that any Saudi retaliation on Sanaa draws a response aimed again at the capital rather than at provincial military sites, keeping the escalation cycle intact even as a coalition evacuation warning signals that an operation there may be imminent.