Saudi Arabia behind air strikes on Yemen’s capital, Houthi officials say

Houthi officials said Saudi Arabia was behind the strikes (AP)

Air strikes on Yemen’s capital Sanaa have killed one person and injured 12 others, Yemen’s Houthi-run health ministry said.

A ministry spokesman said a strike on a salt factory in the city’s Hamadan district killed a man and left eight other people injured. A separate strike on a house injured a woman and three children, the official added.

The Iranian-backed rebels’ media centre blamed Saudi Arabia for the strikes, which came as the Houthis continued to fire missiles and drones toward the kingdom’s airports. There was no immediate comment from Saudi Arabia.

Meanwhile, businesses in Riyadh’s financial hub have told employees to work remotely after the Houthis increased attacks on the kingdom.

That is according to multiple employees whose firms have offices at the King Abdullah Financial District.

The district is home to major financial institutions including the Saudi sovereign wealth fund and an Aramco office, stock exchange and global firms like Goldman Sachs.

Authorities in Riyadh have also asked schools to switch to online classes this week following the deadly strikes on King Khalid International Airport over the weekend.

Two Indian seafarers are missing after a drone struck the MT Petro Dolphin in the Strait of Hormuz area. The commercial tanker had 11 Indian sailors on board when it was hit Sunday, Indian officials said.

A second vessel, the Marshall Islands-flagged MT Valthera, was struck by an unknown projectile, sparking a fire on board, but all 11 Indian sailors on the tanker were safe, the foreign ministry said.

The ministry said that repeated strikes on commercial shipping in the region were “deeply concerning and risk further aggravating an already volatile situation”.

An Emirati diplomat has called for “joint Gulf action” to defend Gulf countries against attacks by Iran and its allied groups.

Anwar Gargash, a diplomatic adviser to the rulers of the United Arab Emirates, said Iran and its allies wrongly assessed that Gulf Arab countries were “the weakest link” in the US and Israel’s war against Iran.

Tehran and its allies have repeatedly attacked Arab countries on the opposite side of the Persian Gulf.

Mr Gargash posted on social media that “we are all targeted and that our security is indivisible”, adding that attacks on Saudi Arabia undermine “the security of the UAE and all Gulf states”.