Houthis strike Riyadh and Yanbu as China offers to mediate US-Iran war
Houthi missiles and drones hit Riyadh and Yanbu while Saudi Arabia intercepts attacks, oil routes stay disrupted, and China positions itself as a mediator in the US-Iran war.
The Full Story
A plain summary built from the channels that reported this story.
Houthi forces have hit Riyadh and Yanbu as the Saudi-Houthi war widens, while China moves to mediate the wider US-Iran conflict.
Yemen's Houthi movement said it launched ballistic and cruise missiles and drones at sensitive sites in Riyadh and at Aramco facilities in Yanbu. A large plume of black smoke was seen near Riyadh's international airport after reports of explosions at a fuel depot. Saudi authorities said they intercepted and destroyed a ballistic missile fired at the capital. The Houthis called the attacks retaliation for Saudi air strikes on Sana'a and Houthi positions. It is the first time Riyadh has apparently been struck in this latest upsurge. Saudi officials said at least one person was killed by shrapnel from an intercepted Houthi drone. Houthi sources said three children were killed by Saudi air strikes near the port city of Mokha. Saudi Arabia also accused the Houthis of a cowardly terrorist attack on Mecca, which the group denied, while claiming attacks on a Saudi air base and oil facilities.
On the ground in Yemen, Houthi forces have seized the Red Sea coast and the Bab al-Mandab Strait. Saudi-backed government forces are trying to fight back. The Houthis accuse Saudi Arabia of more than 300 air strikes in five days. The group has displayed a Saudi F-15 fighter jet it says it brought down with a missile. The UN says more than 80,000 people have fled their homes in the past fortnight, with a later figure putting displacement inside Yemen at at least 112,000 in a couple of weeks. Nearly 3,000 have crossed to Djibouti, and the government there is preparing for up to 10,000 refugees. In Mokha, a hospital is still working under pressure, with staff from Medecins Sans Frontieres assisting and airstrikes heard overnight.
The fighting is squeezing the routes Saudi Arabia uses to export oil. The Strait of Hormuz remains largely blocked by the US-Iran war. Saudi Arabia had been pumping around six million barrels a day through the East-West pipeline to Yanbu, then sending tankers south through Bab al-Mandab. A pumping station on that pipeline was hit by drone attacks from Iraq, and the pipeline is likely to stay closed for weeks for repairs. The Houthis have vowed to target all Saudi shipping. Oil prices have risen above $100 a barrel, reaching around $107 to $109, and analysts warn they could hit $130 or $140 if the disruption is not addressed. UK petrol and diesel prices are at their highest in four years. Gas prices are near their highest since 2022, and European storage is below normal for the time of year. Diesel supply from Russia and the Middle East has fallen by 75 percent, from 2.2 million barrels a day to 520,000. Markets fear higher inflation and higher interest rates. Bank of England rates stand at 3.75 percent and may rise. In Syria, a 40 percent diesel price rise has sparked protests, with the UN estimating 90 percent of Syrians live below the poverty line. Kuwait says it has intercepted Iranian missiles and drones, suffered damage to energy facilities and faces a shipping backlog because of the Hormuz closure.
Diplomatic efforts are moving in several directions. China is positioning itself as a mediator in the US-Iran war. Iran's foreign minister visited Beijing, and US Secretary of State Marco Rubio held a call with Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi. China has said the Middle East war was discussed. Beijing is seeking leverage ahead of a summit between President Xi and President Trump. An emergency summit between Iran and Arab Gulf nations was postponed indefinitely after Saudi Arabia called for a delay. Saudi Arabia is reported to be frustrated that the US is not interceding directly with the Houthis. Washington has avoided direct military involvement, though it may provide intelligence support for Saudi air strikes, and it wants to avoid provoking Iran or scuttling negotiations. Turkey says it is ready to help under a defence pact signed with Saudi Arabia and Pakistan. The EU has voiced solidarity with Saudi Arabia and condemned Houthi strikes on civilians and civilian infrastructure. A UN fact-finding mission said there are reasonable grounds to believe that US strikes on a school in Minab and an attack in Lamerd, which killed about 22 civilians, amounted to war crimes. It also said Iran's crackdown on protests amounted to crimes against humanity, with the death toll likely higher than the official 3,000.
In the Red Sea, a new alliance including African nations has formed to try to stop the Houthi advance. Sudan's navy has been patrolling and intercepting smuggling boats, seizing drugs and weapons. A long-discussed Russian naval base deal in Sudan is described as dead in the water. A Houthi spokesperson told Sky News that the group is seeking de-escalation on internal fronts and that the ball is in Saudi Arabia's court. The spokesperson said the Houthis want an end to the blockade and aggression, and described their actions as a blockade for a blockade and aggression for aggression. Analysts say the Houthis have the upper hand while the US stays out, because they can absorb more pain and are willing to expand the fight to Riyadh. Iran is seen as gaining leverage from the disruption at two key choke points, which together affect a large share of global oil and maritime trade. The Houthis' own goal remains control of Yemen, where a civil war has drawn in regional powers for more than a decade. The attacks have also raised questions about a NATO-style pact between Saudi Arabia, Turkey and Pakistan signed in August, which has seen little open discussion.
On screen
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Key Claims
Claims reported during this story's coverage, mapped by channel. Ordered by how many channels carried each claim.
| Claim | BBC News | BBC One | Channel 4 | ITV | Sky News |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| A pumping station on the East-West Pipeline was damaged by drone attacks from Iraq, reducing oil flow. | · | ||||
| Houthi attack on a Saudi pipeline pushed oil prices close to $110. | · | · | |||
| The Houthis claimed control of Yemen's entire Red Sea coast. | · | · | |||
| The UN reported that 82,000 people fled their homes in the past fortnight. | · | · | |||
| A fire occurred at a fuel tank bearing Aramco logos, and the cause was not confirmed. | · | · | · | ||
| Houthi forces claimed they shot down a Saudi F-15 over Marib. | · | · | · | ||
| Houthi forces launched missile and drone attacks on Saudi Arabia, wounding 13 civilians. | · | · | · | ||
| Houthis denied targeting Mecca. | · | · | · | ||
| Houthis said they attacked Saudi capital Riyadh and Red Sea city Yanbu. | · | · | · | ||
| A meeting between Saudi Arabia and Iran was called off | · | · | · | · | |
| A Red Sea alliance was formed with African nations to stop the Houthi advance. | · | · | · | · | |
| A UN report found reasonable grounds to believe a US strike on a school in Iran was a war crime. | · | · | · | · |
Channel Perspectives
What each channel focused on, with key quotes.
Channel 4 led on the economic shock rather than the battlefield. It focused on the damaged Yanbu pipeline, the loss of Saudi Arabia's workaround to the Strait of Hormuz, diesel shortages, inflation and possible interest rate rises. It also carried the Saudi frustration with Washington and the protests in Syria over diesel prices.
- “that pipeline that Yanbu pipeline was their workaround to bypass the Strait of Hormuz. Well that is not working now.”
- “A meeting between the Saudis and Iran was called off last night”
- “Russia and the Middle East used to account for 2.2 million barrels of diesel a day that has gone down to just 520 000 barrels that is a 75 percent decline.”
ITV put the human cost and oil market pressure side by side. It reported the Houthi seizure of Red Sea ports, the damaged east-west pipeline blamed on Iraqi militants, and the UN displacement figure. Its package leaned on the fear of economic fallout and the suffering of families in Aden.
- “Military moves piling pressure on rising global oil and gas prices.”
- “The attacks of the Houthi rebels puts an additional pressure on Saudi Arabia because so far it could sort of bypass the Strait of Hormuz, which is blocked by Iran, but now with the Houthi attacks, this sort of leeway is blocked as well.”
- “The UN says 82,000 people have fled their homes in the past fortnight.”
The Wrap concentrated on the economics of the oil and gas shock. It used charts to explain the East-West pipeline, the damaged pumping station, European gas storage and the risk of higher inflation and Bank of England rates. The tone was focused on UK cost of living pressures.
- “The surge in prices is being driven by the war in Iran, which has once again pushed the price of oil to well over $100 a barrel.”
- “That helps to explain why oil prices are on the rise. Look at this, up over $100 a barrel.”
- “if inflation goes higher, then Bank of England interest rates potentially go higher.”
BBC News gave rolling, multi-angle coverage. It mixed military updates from Yemen and Saudi Arabia with oil market analysis, Kuwait's direct experience of Iranian strikes, UN displacement figures and analyst debate about whether the US should step in. It also reported the Riyadh airport fire and the postponed Iran-Gulf summit.
- “Houthis in Yemen say they've attacked sites in the Saudi capital, Riyadh, and the Red Sea city of Yanbu.”
- “Saudi authorities say they've intercepted and destroyed a ballistic missile fired at Riyadh.”
- “the United Nations says at least 112,000 people have been displaced inside Yemen within the last couple of weeks”
Sky News Today widened the story to the Red Sea alliance and Africa. It ran a long embed with the Sudanese navy, covering smuggling, drugs and weapons interdiction, and the risk from drones. It also gave airtime to a Houthi spokesperson, who framed the conflict as a Saudi decision.
- “Yemen's Houthis have launched a new attack on Saudi Arabia, firing dozens of missiles and drones at a number of cities, wounding 13 civilians.”
- “The Sana'a government is actually seeking a de-escalation in all internal fronts. The target of Sana'a escalation is actually the Saudis.”
- “All that we have done is put the equation of a blockade for a blockade, an aggression for an aggression.”
This bulletin leaned on security analysis from Frank Gardner. It focused on the Houthi threat to Red Sea shipping, the Saudi East-West pipeline to Yanbu, and Iran's leverage from controlling two choke points. It also highlighted the Saudi accusation over Mecca and the Houthi denial.
- “concerns about global oil supplies are intensifying after Saudi Arabia the world's second largest oil producer accused the Iran-backed Houthis of a cowardly terrorist attack on Islam's holiest city Mecca”
- “The Houthis in this shaded area here can now threaten almost any shipping Passing Yemen's Red Sea coast”
- “The Saudi-Houthi conflict has recently escalated dramatically and that helps Iran”
This shorter regional bulletin repeated the Frank Gardner security analysis. It kept the focus on oil supply risk, the pipeline to Yanbu and Iran's strategic gain. The only additional material was a domestic story on a British soldier killed in Ukraine.
- “accused the Iran-backed Houthis of a cowardly terrorist attack on Islam's holiest city Mecca”
- “Yemen's Houthi rebels displaying a Saudi Air Force f-15 fighter jet they brought down with a missile”
- “Saudi Arabia has been pumping around six million barrels of oil a day Through this east-west pipeline to their export terminal at Yanbu”
This programme put diplomacy first. It led on China's mediation between the US and Iran, the Rubio-Wang Yi call and the postponed Gulf summit, while also covering tit-for-tat deaths, the UN war crimes report and EU solidarity with Saudi Arabia. It gave room to humanitarian voices from Mokha.
- “Middle East is the main topic of a call between the US Secretary of State and China's top diplomat, as Beijing looks set to mediate in Tehran's war with the US.”
- “there are reasonable grounds to believe, in their view, that this constituted a war crime by the Americans”
- “The European Union has voiced its full solidarity with Saudi Arabia as it condemned recent strikes on the kingdom.”
This bulletin focused on the direct Houthi strike on Riyadh. It highlighted the smoke near the capital's airport, the Houthi claim of two operations against Riyadh and Yanbu, and the Saudi intercepts. It noted that this was the first time Riyadh appeared to have been hit in the latest surge.
- “Yemen's Houthis have attacked the capital of Saudi Arabia with ballistic missiles and drones. Flames and a large stream of smoke were seen near to the city's main airport.”
- “The first targeted sensitive sites in the Saudi capital Riyadh and the second targeted Aramco facilities in Yanbu.”
- “It's the first time that the capital has actually yet seemingly been struck by the Houthis in this latest upsurge in violence.”
Broadcast Timeline
News broadcasts tracked for this story, in time order.