RIYADH/SANA’A,: Saudi Arabia launched retaliatory strikes on Tuesday after Iran backed Houthi rebels fired dozens of ballistic missiles at airports, air bases and oil facilities in the kingdom’s south, in the heaviest cross border assault in years.
Houthi missiles struck Abha International Airport, King Khalid Air Base and sites run by state oil giant Aramco in Abha and Jizan, the group said. Saudi authorities reported fires at several energy installations, temporary shutdowns at oil sites and 73 people injured, reported by Euro News.
The exchange marks a sharp escalation after a four-year truce collapsed in July, months into the wider war between the United States and Iran. Saudi strikes hit Taiz and Marib provinces, Houthi-run Almasirah TV said, though Riyadh offered no immediate comment.
The violence feeds a rapidly deteriorating situation in Yemen, where hundreds have died in recent days as the Houthis push to seize territory near the Bab al-Mandeb strait; a key oil route that has grown more important since Iran’s blockade of the Strait of Hormuz slowed Gulf exports to a trickle.
Oil prices leapt toward $100 a barrel on Tuesday as attacks on energy infrastructure and Saudi tankers raised fears of wider disruption. Jizan, home to one of Saudi Arabia’s largest refineries with a capacity of 400,000 barrels per day, had already been offline for weeks after earlier Houthi strikes.
The Houthis said their attacks were revenge for a Saudi raid on a prison they say killed 11 people and left 20 inmates missing. They control about a third of Yemen’s territory, the most densely populated parts and are part of Tehran’s “Axis of Resistance”, a network of militias backed by Iran’s Revolutionary Guards.
Saudi Foreign Minister Prince Faisal bin Farhan, speaking in Moscow, said diplomacy remained possible but the kingdom was ready to defend itself. “The Kingdom will always support peace and diplomatic solutions,” he said. “However, it will not hesitate to defend itself, protect its interests, and support measures that secure the interests, security, and stability of brotherly Yemen.”
Analysts warn Riyadh now faces a “spiral of escalation”. Andreas Krieg of King’s College London said Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman confronts an “extremely uncomfortable dilemma”: after years of trying to exit the Yemen war, restraint risks letting the Houthis set the pace of violence.
“Saudi Arabia’s immediate response is likely to remain measured, involving airstrikes, intelligence support, and the reinforcement of Yemeni government forces,” Krieg said. But if attacks on Saudi cities continue, “maintaining this restraint will become increasingly difficult.”
The Houthis, formally Ansar Allah, seized power in 2014 and have since drawn Riyadh into a grinding conflict. While they do not control the Bab al-Mandeb coastline, they hold land less than 100 kilometres away from the “Gate of Tears”, a chokepoint carrying roughly 12% of global maritime trade.
