Houthis Launch Fresh Missile, Drone Attacks on Saudi Targets as Iran Denies Yemen War Role

Yemen’s Houthi rebels have launched a fresh wave of missile and drone attacks against Saudi military targets, escalating the country’s renewed civil war as Iran denies directing the group’s latest offensive.

The Houthis said they fired dozens of missiles and drones at Saudi Arabia on Monday, targeting military facilities at King Khalid Air Base in Khamis Mushait. Saudi Civil Defence issued alerts in Khamis Mushait and nearby Abha, while a resident described hearing “intense blasts” that caused fires to burn for a prolonged period.

The latest attacks come after the Houthis claimed control of Yemen’s Red Sea coast and the strategic Bab al-Mandab Strait last week. The waterway has become increasingly important to the regional conflict because Iran has continued to block the Strait of Hormuz, disrupting a major route for global energy shipments.

Houthi military spokesman Yahya Saree said the attacks targeted fighter jet hangars, radar systems, runways and ammunition depots. He described the strikes as retaliation for what he claimed were more than 300 Saudi airstrikes on Yemen over the past five days.

Iran, however, rejected accusations that it was directing the renewed fighting. Foreign Ministry spokesman Esmaeil Baqaei said the Houthis were “entirely independent actors who make their decisions based on their own interests”, despite Tehran’s long-standing support for the group with weapons and military technology.

The renewed conflict has also complicated efforts to ease tensions around the Strait of Hormuz. A planned meeting between Gulf states and Iran was postponed on Monday, with Tehran accusing Saudi Arabia of using the Yemen conflict as a reason to delay discussions over the strategic waterway.

Fighting between the Houthis and Yemen’s internationally recognised government has intensified after years of relative calm. Yemeni government forces said on Sunday they had retaken positions in Taiz province and killed at least 10 Houthi fighters, according to the official Saba news agency.

The United States has also been drawn into the diplomatic calculations surrounding the conflict. Reports said Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman had asked US President Donald Trump to intervene, while US Central Command chief Admiral Brad Cooper met the crown prince in Jeddah on Monday to discuss developments in the region.

The Houthis seized Yemen’s capital, Sanaa, in 2014, prompting Saudi Arabia to lead a military coalition in support of the government the following year. The conflict created one of the world’s worst humanitarian crises, and the latest fighting has already displaced about 86,000 people, according to the UN migration agency. More than 2,000 others have crossed the Bab al-Mandab into Djibouti.