{"id":837715,"date":"2026-10-13T15:40:00","date_gmt":"2026-10-13T19:40:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/mereja.com\/index\/?p=837715"},"modified":"2026-10-13T15:37:17","modified_gmt":"2026-10-13T19:37:17","slug":"houthis-aramco-legitimate-targets-erdogan-saudi-airline-cancellations","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/mereja.com\/index\/837715","title":{"rendered":"Houthis call Saudi Aramco facilities legitimate targets as Erdogan backs Riyadh and airlines cancel flights"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"Aerial<\/p>\n

Aerial view of the Saudi Aramco refinery at Ras Tanura on the Gulf coast of Saudi Arabia, 1979 (Paul Palmer, Saudi Aramco, Wikimedia Commons, public domain) [file photo]<\/em><\/p>\n

Yemen’s Houthis said on Tuesday that Saudi Aramco oil facilities are legitimate targets and called on employees and civilians to evacuate, Reuters and The Jerusalem Post reported.<\/p>\n

Houthi military spokesman Yahya Saree also told people near any Saudi oil facilities to stay clear of potential targets. The Jerusalem Post said the warning followed a Saudi-led coalition statement earlier Tuesday that civilians would be told to evacuate a site in Sanaa ahead of a special operation. The Houthis said any Saudi attack on Sanaa would meet a harsh response. Al Jazeera reported that Saree, in a statement on X, named retaliatory sites that included an Aramco headquarters in Dammam, King Khalid International Airport in Riyadh and an Aramco-affiliated refinery in Riyadh. Houthi-run Al-Masirah TV and Al Jazeera later reported strikes on the Yemen Oil Company site in Sanaa after the coalition warning.<\/p>\n

The Aramco threat is a fresh escalation after weekend strikes on Riyadh’s international airport. A Saturday strike killed 13 people and wounded hundreds, and a Sunday strike killed one person and wounded about 11, Reuters reported. Saudi Arabia’s cabinet, chaired by Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, said on Tuesday that the Houthis would face consequences for their repeated attacks on the kingdom, including strikes on airports and civilian and economic facilities, the Saudi Press Agency reported. On Monday, Houthi political bureau member Mohammed al-Bukhaiti told AFP the group would launch a swift and painful response against the United States and its regional interests if Washington joined Saudi Arabia’s military campaign in Yemen.<\/p>\n

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan told Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman in a phone call on Tuesday that Turkey would continue to stand by Saudi Arabia amid the Houthi attacks, the Turkish presidency said. Erdogan condemned the Houthi attacks in the strongest terms and said he believed the challenge would be overcome. Turkey, Saudi Arabia and Pakistan signed the Mecca Joint Defense Agreement in August, under which an attack on one party constitutes an attack on all. Pakistan’s Foreign Office said after the weekend airport strikes that Islamabad’s commitment to Saudi Arabia’s security under that agreement was firm and unshakeable, Dawn reported. On October 11, Turkey, Egypt, Pakistan and Saudi Arabia, as the R4 Group, issued a joint statement condemning the attacks on King Khalid International Airport as a dangerous escalation that cannot be justified, Turkey’s Foreign Ministry said.<\/p>\n

Airline operations are already reacting. Air India posted on X on Tuesday that all of its flights to and from Riyadh, Dammam and Jeddah stand cancelled until October 17, 2026, and that it is monitoring developments to resume safe operations. Indian media accounts and The Tribune reported that IndiGo and Akasa Air also cancelled flights to and from Saudi cities including Riyadh, Jeddah, Dammam and Madinah until Saturday. The Indian Embassy in Riyadh issued a safety advisory urging Indian nationals to remain calm, stay vigilant and move indoors during aerial attacks, according to reports circulating on X. Anadolu Agency posted that the Houthis warned civilians and workers to evacuate Saudi Aramco oil facilities after the coalition’s Sanaa evacuation order. The Jerusalem Post account posted the Reuters-based story on the Aramco threat on Tuesday.<\/p>\n

Energy markets and Red Sea shipping sit in the background of the threat language. Aramco is the world’s largest oil producer by capacity, and a public call to evacuate its facilities lands on traders already watching Hormuz and Red Sea risk. AFP has reported fighting near the Bab el-Mandeb strait, a separate shipping corridor.<\/p>\n

The combination of an explicit oil-infrastructure threat, a Turkish political pledge under the Mecca pact, and multi-day Indian airline cancellations raises the stakes beyond the weekend airport attacks. Neither Reuters nor The Jerusalem Post reported a strike on Aramco facilities on Tuesday, and their accounts included no Saudi official confirmation of damage to Aramco production sites.<\/p>\n

Sources:<\/strong><\/p>\n