{"text":[[{"start":7.99,"text":"Saudi Arabia issued air-raid alerts for Riyadh and other cities across the nation overnight as Iranian-backed Houthis step up missile and drone attacks on the kingdom."}],[{"start":17.341,"text":"It was the first time the authorities had declared a warning for the Saudi capital since the Yemeni rebels reignited a decade-long war with the kingdom in July, shattering a four-year truce and opening another front in the Middle East conflict."}],[{"start":32.4,"text":"All-clear messages were sent shortly after the alerts, with similar warnings issued for Jeddah, Saudi Arabia’s second city, Yanbu, which is home to vital oil facilities, and half a dozen other cities."}],[{"start":42.703,"text":"Residents in Riyadh said they heard a loud boom early on Saturday and smoke was seen rising from near the capital’s airport. Authorities did not report any damage but the wave of alerts across the kingdom underscored the threat posed by the Houthis."}],[{"start":57.829,"text":"Over the past 10 days the rebels have escalated their attacks on Saudi Arabia, while mounting a lightning advance southwards along Yemen’s Red Sea coast to tighten their grip on the Bab al-Mandeb Strait, a critical international waterway."}],[{"start":70.842,"text":"Saudi authorities said dozens of people have been wounded in the Houthis’ missile and drone attacks on the kingdom this month and that some oil operations in the south have been halted."}],[{"start":81.12,"text":"Separately, a drone attack this month from Iraq, where Iranian-aligned Shia militias and Tehran’s Revolutionary Guards are active, forced the state oil company Saudi Aramco to close a pipeline it uses to ship crude from the east to the Red Sea port of Yanbu."}],[{"start":96.246,"text":"The attacks have pushed oil prices to their highest levels since mid-May."}],[{"start":100.464,"text":"Saudi Arabia intervened in Yemen’s civil war in 2015 to lead an Arab coalition against the Houthis after the rebels seized Sana’a, the Yemeni capital, and ousted the internationally recognised government."}],[{"start":112.92,"text":"The warring parties agreed a truce in 2022 that had largely held until the Houthis declared in July that they were imposing a blockade on the kingdom’s ports and attacked Saudi tankers."}],[{"start":123.899,"text":"They then launched an offensive against Saudi-backed factions aligned with the Yemeni government to advance on Bab al-Mandeb. It has become a vital route for Saudi Arabia to export oil after Iran blocked shipping through the Strait of Hormuz in retaliation for the US-Israel war against the Islamic republic."}],[{"start":141.6,"text":"Analysts said the Houthis, who receive arms and technology from Iran, have developed more advanced weaponry in recent years."}],[{"start":149.606,"text":"The rebels want Riyadh to make concessions, including paying salaries in areas under Houthi control, allowing the militants access to Yemen’s oil revenues, and enabling free movement at ports and airports controlled by the rebels."}],[{"start":163.36,"text":"But their escalation also bolsters Iran’s efforts to maintain the pressure on global energy prices in its battle with the US."}],[{"start":170.727,"text":"The Houthis have accused Saudi Arabia of launching more than 300 air strikes in Yemen over the past week, as the Saudi-backed Yemeni factions seek to reverse the rebels’ offensive along the Red Sea coast."}],[{"start":186.32,"text":""}]],"url":"https://audio.ftcn.net.cn/album/a_1789866060_9456.mp3"}