Missile warning sirens sounded Tuesday in the Saudi cities of Taif, Jeddah and Mecca amid an escalating confrontation between Riyadh and Yemen's Houthi rebels. Authorities later announced that residents could leave protected areas, and it was not immediately clear whether any impacts or casualties had been reported.
The sounding of sirens in Mecca, Islam's holiest city, marks a further escalation in the fighting, which has already claimed thousands of lives and resulted in the Houthis taking control of large parts of Yemen's western coast. Air traffic bound for Prince Mohammad bin Abdulaziz International Airport in Medina was halted.
Earlier, aircraft belonging to Yemen's internationally recognized government and the Royal Saudi Air Force reportedly struck targets near the city of Taiz. The Houthis are pressing an offensive aimed at breaking the siege around the city and could succeed in defeating government forces on that front as well.
The United States and Saudi Arabia intend to expand use of the southern shipping lane through the Strait of Hormuz to compensate for the Houthi blockade of the Bab al-Mandeb Strait. According to diplomatic sources in the Gulf, the plan was among the understandings reached during a meeting between US Central Command chief Adm. Brad Cooper and Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman.
The southern route through Hormuz is operating at only a fraction of its prewar capacity, but the US Navy has managed to facilitate the daily transit of an average of 10 tankers, about half the number that crossed before the war. Under President Donald Trump's direction, US forces are determined to prevent a further significant rise in oil prices, and military force is expected to be used against Iran's strike capabilities in the Strait of Hormuz to that end.
