Houthis claim strike on Saudi Arabia as conflict deepens

SANAA – Iran-backed Houthi rebels claimed a missile strike on Saudi Arabia on July 25, hours after vowing to retaliate against the kingdom for attacks as the Middle East war expanded.

Riyadh struck Houthi military targets in Hodeida on July 24, with rebel media reporting two wounded after the Yemeni group announced a maritime blockade of the top oil producer and hit its ships.

The flare-up marks a new front of the war that has engulfed the region following US-Israeli strikes on Tehran in February, and comes on top of Iran’s parallel blockade of the Strait of Hormuz, Riyadh’s only other maritime route.

The rebels had accused Saudi Arabia of a “dangerous escalation” and said its actions “will not go unanswered”.

The Houthis’ Ansarollah media said on Telegram early on July 25 that a “Yemeni missile strike” had sparked fires in the southern Saudi city of Jizan on the Red Sea.

Saudi Arabia did not immediately comment on the claim.

But Riyadh’s civil defence agency had issued brief warnings to residents in Jizan and Yanbu early on July 25 for “potential danger”, only to lift the warnings minutes later.

Similar warnings have been issued in the past when missiles or drones were fired at the kingdom.

The warning came after the Saudi-led coalition said on July 24 it had hit Houthi sites and destroyed targets threatening commercial vessels in response to attacks on Red Sea shipping.

A Yemeni security source told AFP a naval base in the port city of Hodeida and a military camp on Kamaran island were among the Saudi targets.

The Houthis claimed attacks on two Saudi ships earlier this week, with Saudi Arabia confirming one of the attacks in the Red Sea.

Blockade

The Yemeni security source, who requested anonymity, said the Saudi strikes targeted a telecommunications building near Hodeida’s port and a naval base at Ras al-Kathib in Hodeida.

The Houthis’ al-Masirah television channel said two people were wounded – a worker in Hodeida and a woman on Kamaran island.

It said a telecoms building had been hit in Hodeida.

On July 20, the rebels had warned in a radio message to ships that they would target vessels “belonging to (the) Saudi enemy” that do not comply with their blockade.

Saudi state media cited a transport authority official on July 24 as saying “the vessel (NCC MASA), belonging to a Saudi company, was targeted while sailing in the Red Sea today... resulting in minor damage to the vessel’s hull”.

The ship resumed its course, the SPA added.

Red Sea access has become vital for Saudi Arabia to keep shipping oil as traffic in Hormuz is disrupted.

In April and May, all of Saudi seaborne crude exports departed from its Red Sea port of Yanbu, according to Kpler data. It represented 92 per cent of all seaborne crude exports in June and 78 per cent so far in July.

The Houthis have been at war with Yemen’s government since 2014, in a conflict that has killed hundreds of thousands of people.

The recent exchange of fire threatens a 2022 truce that has held despite expiring. AFP