ERBIL () - Schools across Riyadh are moving to remote learning for one week following instructions from Saudi authorities, with parents receiving last-minute notices on Sunday as security tensions rise around the kingdom.
Agence France-Presse reported that parents at schools across the Saudi capital received emails informing them that campuses would remain closed throughout the week and classes would be conducted remotely. Saudi authorities had not publicly provided a reason for the decision at the time of the announcement.
"We have just been informed by Saudi authorities that schools must remain closed all week,"two separate school messages seen by AFP said.
The sudden announcement left some families seeking further information about what had prompted the measure.
One Riyadh parent, who spoke to AFP on condition of anonymity, said a decision affecting an entire school community required greater clarity, while a Lebanese expatriate described the move as last-minute and said families did not know what was happening.
The shift to online education comes amid heightened security concerns in Saudi Arabia following a renewed series of missile and drone attacks from Yemen by Iran-backed Houthi fighters.
A day before the school announcement, the Saudi-led coalition fighting the Houthis said it had intercepted drones and ballistic missiles targeting the kingdom.
The attacks are part of an escalation that has developed since renewed hostilities in Yemen disrupted a truce that had substantially reduced fighting for several years.
Saudi Arabia and its partners have also raised concerns about the effects of the conflict beyond the kingdom's territory, particularly around the Red Sea and the Bab al-Mandeb Strait.
The Houthis have expanded their position along Yemen's western coastline, including capturing the port city of Mokha and strategic Red Sea islands, developments that have increased concerns over their ability to monitor and potentially disrupt shipping passing through Bab al-Mandeb.
Associated Press reporters Jennifer Peltz, Fatma Khaled and Cara Anna reported this week that roughly 12% of global trade normally passes through the waterway. Yemen's internationally recognized government has warned at the United Nations that Houthi control near the strait poses risks extending beyond Yemen to global supply chains and energy markets.
The Houthis have declared a blockade targeting Saudi shipping while saying other commercial vessels are not their intended targets. Saudi officials and Yemen's internationally recognized government have disputed assurances that the threat can remain limited.
The United Nations Security Council has also condemned escalating attacks against Saudi Arabia, noting that civilians, including women and children, have been wounded.
Saudi Foreign Minister Prince Faisal bin Farhan used his address to the UN General Assembly on Saturday to call for stronger international action to protect freedom of navigation through the region's major waterways.
He named the Strait of Hormuz, Bab al-Mandeb, the Red Sea and the Gulf of Aden, arguing that disruptions to those routes threaten international energy security and trade.
Saudi Arabia rejects the use of strategic waterways as instruments of political or military pressure and has called for navigation to be protected under international law.
The regional shipping concerns have become more acute as disruption has affected both Bab al-Mandeb and the Strait of Hormuz. Iran has restricted maritime traffic through Hormuz during its conflict with the United States and Israel, while the Houthis' renewed military activity has placed additional pressure on Red Sea routes.
For families in Riyadh, however, the immediate consequence is more local: children will spend the coming week attending classes from home.
Saudi authorities have not said whether the remote-learning arrangement could be extended beyond one week or whether the decision is directly connected to the recent Houthi attacks. For now, schools have been instructed to remain closed while lessons continue online.
