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Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman has been moving between heavily guarded palaces with bunkers as Houthi attacks intensify against the kingdom, The Wall Street Journal reported on October 12, citing officials familiar with his movements.
The 41-year-old crown prince is also protected by a handpicked security team, according to the report, which notes that his last public appearance was on October 6, when he gave blood during a national donation drive.
The heightened security marks a sharp reversal from Saudi officials’ earlier assurances that the Houthi threat was under control.
The group has expanded its attacks to Saudi airports and energy infrastructure, exposing the kingdom’s vulnerability despite years of military involvement in Yemen.
At least one Houthi missile struck Riyadh’s international airport on October 10, killing at least 12 people and injuring hundreds. Another strike hit the airport the following day.
Earlier attacks targeted the kingdom’s main east-west oil pipeline, which allows Saudi Arabia to transport crude to the Red Sea while bypassing the Strait of Hormuz.
Saudi officials had underestimated the threat posed by the Houthis. Saudi intelligence indicated that Iran was actively pressing the group to enter the war, but some officials assessed that the Houthis had already suffered substantial military damage from United States and Israeli attacks the previous year and would make decisions based on their own interests rather than Tehran’s, the Journal reported.
The conflict is now jeopardizing bin Salman’s efforts to establish tourism and international investment as pillars of the Saudi economy.
An international investment conference scheduled for later this month is now in doubt, while the costs of the war have widened the budget deficit and increased the risk of an economic contraction.
Foreign investment fell during the first two quarters of the year, and rising defense and infrastructure spending threatens to divert funds from the crown prince’s economic diversification program. Several major projects have been stalled or placed under review.
Saudi Arabia’s Finance Ministry now expects the economy to shrink by about 3.6% by the end of this year, according to the report.
Bin Salman has sought closer ties with President Donald Trump, including a pledge to invest around $1 trillion in the United States. Washington, however, has so far resisted Saudi requests for military assistance to roll back the Houthi advance, although it has sent military advisers.
Riyadh has turned to Pakistan for support, is seeking air defense systems abroad and is considering recruiting foreign fighters to support its Yemeni allies while exploring a diplomatic way to contain the conflict, the report said. Meanwhile, Turkey, a signatory to the Mecca defense pact, has ruled out an offensive role, while reports of possible Syrian involvement remain unconfirmed.
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