Pakistan

Islamabad, September 20, 2026. The Pakistani press widely reported on Saturday the escalation between the Houthis and Saudi Arabia, but framed it from the outset in the broader context of the nearly seven-month-long American-Iranian war that is already affecting the global economy. The Daily Times emphasizes that this attack on Riyadh is "the first time since the resurgence of the civil war in Yemen" that the Saudi capital is directly threatened, an episode that "further shakes an already pressured global economy".

According to Pakistani articles, the Riyadh-led coalition announced that it had intercepted and destroyed a ballistic missile fired by the Houthis towards the capital at dawn on Saturday, after an air alert was issued in Riyadh and Al-Kharj during the night. A column of black smoke rose near King Khaled International Airport: firefighters were battling a fire at a fuel tank bearing the Aramco logo, in a fuel depot near the airport, according to journalists on the scene cited by ARY News and Business Recorder. The FlightRadar24 website classified the airport at its maximum disruption index, 5.0, resulting in cancellations and long delays.

The coalition's spokesman, Turki al-Malki, stated that the Houthis had also attempted to target civilians and infrastructure in Bisha, Taif, Farasan, and Yanbu, attacks that he claimed were foiled. The Houthi military spokesman, Yahya Saree, claimed on Telegram two operations combining ballistic missiles, cruise missiles, and drones: one against "sensitive sites" in Riyadh, the other against Aramco facilities in Yanbu.

ARY News directly links the episode to the Gulf's oil exports: with the Strait of Hormuz still blocked by the war with Iran, the Red Sea route constitutes the main alternative for Gulf exports, and is now also threatened by the naval blockade imposed by the Houthis on Saudi ships since July. Pakistani media recall that the Houthis have carried out a lightning offensive in recent weeks, allowing them to conquer large portions of Yemeni territory, without Saudi airstrikes being able to stop it. A resident of Riyadh told AFP: "I heard the alarm, then my windows shook."