Saudi Arabia issues alerts in Mecca and Jeddah
Saudi Arabia on Tuesday issued security alerts across a significant part of the country, including in Mecca and Jeddah, after a week of attacks by Iran-linked groups. The warnings were quickly lifted. Saudi authorities did not say whether incoming projectiles had landed on the country’s territory, and no one immediately claimed responsibility for possible attacks.
As Kathmandu Post reports, these were the most extensive alerts since the conflict escalated last week. An alert was issued in Mecca for the first time during the war. The city is home to holy sites important to Muslims around the world.
Attacks and the situation in Yemen
The Houthis, whom the publication describes as linked to Iran, said they had carried out several major attacks on Saudi Arabia over the past week. In particular, they reported striking an air base on Monday, calling it a response to airstrikes on Yemen. The Saudi coalition fighting the Houthis in Yemen said that 13 civilians were injured as a result of attacks on Monday.
According to officials from the Saudi-backed Yemeni government, which is based in the south of the country, Saudi and Yemeni air forces have intensified bombardments of Houthi targets. Strikes were carried out, in particular, near the historic Red Sea port of Mocha, which the Houthis captured last week. These officials also acknowledged that the Houthis had established de facto control over almost the entire western coast of Yemen along the Red Sea.
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Risks to oil exports
Saudi Arabia blamed a separate pro-Iranian movement based in Iraq for Friday’s attack, which disabled the East-West oil pipeline. The 1,200-kilometer pipeline connects oil fields in the Persian Gulf region with the Red Sea and has become the kingdom’s main export route amid disruptions to shipping through the Strait of Hormuz.
US Energy Secretary Chris Wright told CNBC that, in his view, oil supplies through the pipeline could resume within a few days. Traders believe a prolonged shutdown of the route could reduce up to 4% of global oil supplies. Against the backdrop of these events, Brent oil futures exceeded $108 per barrel on Tuesday.
The UN Security Council discussed the escalation around the Bab el-Mandeb Strait. US Deputy Permanent Representative to the UN Jennifer Locketta said that Houthi advances near the strait threaten global energy security and international trade. Saudi Arabia’s ambassador to the UN, Abdulaziz Alwasil, accused the Houthis of militarizing international straits to pressure the global economy.
