Houthis Launch New Missile and Drone Attacks on Saudi Arabia
RIYADH (Terror Monitor) — Iran-backed Houthi forces in Yemen launched new missile and drone attacks against military targets in Saudi Arabia on Monday, while Iran rejected accusations that it was directly intervening in Yemen’s renewed civil war.
The Houthis said they launched dozens of missiles and drones toward Saudi Arabia. Following the attacks, Saudi Civil Defense issued brief security alerts in the southern cities of Khamis Mus
Yemen’s internationally recognized government forces have recaptured positions west of Taiz after clashes with Houthi forces, while fighting has intensified along the Red Sea coast and Saudi Arabia’s southern border.
Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman met CENTCOM commander Admiral Brad Cooper in Jeddah amid escalating tensions with Iran-backed Houthi forces, as Riyadh reportedly seeks U.S. intelligence and military support.
The Iran-backed Houthis claim Saudi warplanes carried out airstrikes on Houthi-held areas in Taiz and Saada, while also reporting artillery fire near the northern border. The claims come amid escalating fighting, threats to Saudi oil infrastructure and a rapidly worsening displacement crisis in Yemen.
Around 76,000 people have been displaced across Yemen since the Houthis announced a maritime blockade against Saudi Arabia in July, according to the UN. The IOM says displacement has surged fourfold in the past week, with Taiz province accounting for nearly 50,000 displaced people amid intensifying fighting.
Saudi Arabia has warned residents in areas near Abha and Khamis Mushait of possible attacks amid escalating fighting between Iran-backed Houthis and Saudi-backed Yemeni government forces. The warning was later withdrawn, as tensions intensified along the Yemen-Saudi border and around the strategic Bab al-Mandab Strait.
Iraq has confirmed that a drone attack targeting Saudi Arabia’s major East-West oil pipeline was launched from Maysan province, prompting Baghdad to remove a military commander and launch an investigation. Saudi Arabia has temporarily shut the pipeline, while pressure mounts on Iraq to act against Iranian-backed militias.
Iran-backed Houthi forces have seized Yemen’s entire Red Sea coastline and three strategic islands, strengthening their control over the vital Bab al-Mandab Strait. The advance could enhance their ability to target Saudi oil tankers and further disrupt regional maritime trade.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu says Israel is nearing the “collapse of the regime” in Iran, while Israel’s expanding military presence on Mount Hermon in southern Syria highlights the mountain’s critical strategic, military and water-resource importance.
Iran-backed Houthi rebels have seized control of Yemen’s key port city of Mokha, strengthening their position near the strategic Bab al-Mandab Strait and raising concerns over international shipping and global energy supplies. The reported takeover comes amid a sharp escalation in regional tensions between Iran, Saudi Arabia and the United States.
Iran-backed Houthi rebels say Saudi Arabia has carried out more than 32 airstrikes on their positions in Yemen, following large-scale Houthi attacks that wounded 73 civilians, including women and children, in several Saudi cities.
At least 14 people were killed and 11 others injured in an explosion at a temporary weapons and explosives storage facility near Sarmada in Syria’s Idlib province. Authorities warned that the death toll could rise as rescue teams search the rubble for survivors.
