Yemen’s Ansarallah movement announced Thursday that its armed forces had launched fresh missile and drone operations against targets in Saudi Arabia, including what it described as a “sensitive target” in the capital Riyadh and a facility belonging to Saudi oil giant Aramco in the Red Sea port city of Yanbu.

The announcement came as the confrontation between Yemen and Saudi Arabia entered a new phase of escalation, with Ansarallah saying its latest operations were carried out in response to continuing Saudi airstrikes against areas under Yemeni control.

In a televised statement broadcast by Al-Masirah, Ansarallah military spokesman Yahya Saree said Yemeni forces conducted two separate operations using ballistic and cruise missiles as well as drones.

Saree said both operations had “successfully achieved their objectives,” although he did not identify the specific site targeted in Riyadh or provide details about possible casualties or damage.

Saudi authorities had not immediately confirmed that the alleged strikes reached their intended targets, and the Yemeni claims could not be independently verified.

The announcement followed a separate Saudi statement that its air defenses had intercepted and destroyed six ballistic missiles allegedly launched toward Taif and Yanbu. Saudi coalition spokesman Maj. Gen. Turki al-Maliki said the missiles had been intercepted before reaching their targets.

Saudi civil defense authorities also issued temporary warnings for several areas, including Yanbu, Jeddah, Taif, Tabuk and Makkah, before later declaring that the immediate danger had passed.

Ansarallah, meanwhile, said its military actions were a response to what it described as continuing Saudi aggression against Yemen.

Saree claimed that Saudi forces had carried out 1,018 air and missile strikes since the latest escalation began, striking areas including Saada, Marib, Al-Jawf, Hodeidah, Taiz and Al-Bayda. He accused Saudi forces of causing civilian casualties and damage to Yemeni infrastructure.

“Every escalation will be met with a response of the same kind,” Saree said, reiterating Ansarallah's stated policy of responding to Saudi military operations with attacks against Saudi targets.

The latest operations came only hours after Ansarallah also claimed a large-scale missile and drone attack against Saudi military positions in the southwestern Jazan region.

The confrontation has increasingly extended beyond Yemen's borders. On Sept. 19, Ansarallah claimed another operation against “sensitive sites” in Riyadh and Aramco facilities in Yanbu. Saudi authorities confirmed that an attempted ballistic missile attack on Riyadh had been intercepted, while video verified by Reuters showed a large plume of smoke near King Khalid International Airport.

The recent escalation has also raised concerns over Saudi Arabia's energy infrastructure. Yanbu is a major Red Sea oil hub and provides an important alternative route for Saudi crude exports when shipping through the Strait of Hormuz is disrupted. Reuters reported that a missile and a drone were intercepted in the wider Yanbu area on Thursday by an air-defense system operated by Greek military personnel stationed in Saudi Arabia.

From the Yemeni perspective, the attacks represent a continuation of Ansarallah's stated policy of imposing costs on Saudi Arabia in response to military operations against Yemen. The movement has repeatedly said that its cross-border attacks will continue as long as Saudi military action against Yemen persists.

The latest escalation is taking place against the backdrop of Yemen's long-running war, which began in 2014 after Ansarallah forces took control of Sanaa and large parts of northern Yemen. Saudi Arabia subsequently assembled a military coalition and intervened in Yemen in March 2015 in support of the internationally recognized government.

Years of fighting have devastated Yemen's economy and infrastructure and produced one of the world's most severe humanitarian crises. The renewed military escalation has further complicated efforts to contain the conflict and has increased concerns about its impact on civilians, regional security and vital Red Sea shipping routes.

With Saudi Arabia continuing to rely on air defenses against Yemeni missile and drone attacks, and Ansarallah vowing to respond to further Saudi strikes, the latest exchanges point to a potentially prolonged confrontation unless military escalation is replaced by a negotiated political process. (ILKHA)