The spokesman for the Saudi-led Arab coalition in Yemen, Col Turki Al Malki, travelled to the city of Marib on Tuesday and met the governor of the internationally recognised government's last northern stronghold. In recent months, Yemeni government forces and allied tribes have been battling Iran-backed Houthi militias in the rugged terrain around the city. On the same day, commander of the Royal Saudi Air Force Lt Gen Turki bin Abdulaziz met US Air Force commander Lt Gen Gregory Guillot. The high-level meetings come after a barrage of Houthi drone and ballistic missile attacks on the kingdom in recent weeks, most of which were foiled by Saudi air defences. One of oil company Aramco's terminals in the Red Sea city of Jeddah was among Sunday's targets. The oil-loading site is one of the largest in the world. Saudi Arabia's Cabinet said the attacks "targeted the nerve centre of the global economy". The attacks were condemned by regional nations and the US government. Last month, US President Joe Biden delisted the Iran-backed Houthi rebels as a foreign terrorist organisation. The group was given the designation during the final days of the Trump administration. Tom Cotton, a US senator, criticised Mr Biden's policy on the Yemen war, which includes reducing military support to Saudi Arabia. The policy emboldened the Houthis, Mr Cotton said. But Col Al Malki said on Monday that Saudi Arabia was capable of protecting its oil facilities. "Saudi Arabia has a great deterrent force against any threat, regardless of its source," he told Saudi-owned broadcaster <em>Al Arabiya</em>. "No country in the region or beyond has the courage to take responsibility for an attack on the kingdom."
