Sirens and explosions heard again in Najran and Jazan
The alert follows a week in which the Houthi campaign spread well beyond the border corridor into Riyadh, with confirmed airport damage, deaths and an Aramco fire.
Published
Map: The Middle East, marking Najran, Jizan, Riyadh
Sirens sounded and explosions were heard early Thursday in Saudi Arabia's Najran and Jazan regions, the latest in a string of alerts along the border corridor stretching back to mid-September, including similar incidents on Sep 23 and Oct 6. The corridor has cleared without confirmed damage dozens of times since then, and Saudi authorities did not immediately say whether Thursday's incident was different.
The wider campaign has since moved well beyond that border area. On Monday, Houthi forces claimed strikes on Riyadh Airport and the Khamis Mushait air base, claims Saudi Arabia has not confirmed. Riyadh Airport extended a flight suspension after confirmed damage from earlier strikes, and three explosions were heard in the capital as Saudi authorities issued a warning of potential danger. Deaths were reported at King Khalid International Airport, and a fire broke out at an Aramco building. A Houthi spokesperson has warned that any Saudi strike on Sanaa would draw retaliation in Riyadh, and Saudi Arabia has pre-announced an operation threatening oil infrastructure directly. Separately, Dammam Airport was targeted on Sunday, with Saudi Civil Aviation still assessing damage and no disruption confirmed at the time.
Iran's foreign minister, Araghchi, said he had offered Saudi Arabia mediation after the Houthi strikes; Riyadh confirmed that a call took place but did not confirm it as a mediation offer. Markets have already moved on the broader campaign: gold edged up to $4,206.86 on Sunday and Brent fell 1.2% amid renewed Houthi attacks on the kingdom's main airport.
Against that run of capital-area and energy-infrastructure headlines, a Najran-Jazan siren now reads as background noise next to the risk already being priced into oil and gold, unless Saudi authorities confirm damage this time rather than issue the usual all-clear.