Houthis Fire Missiles at Saudi in Response to Airstrikes in Yemen
CAIRO: Yemen’s Iran-backed Houthi rebels said on Saturday they had fired missiles and drones at Saudi Arabia in response to Saudi airstrikes on the strategic Red Sea city of Hodeida, with tensions rising over vital shipping routes in the Middle East as the United States and Iran compete for control of the Strait of Hormuz.
Brig. The attack targeted facilities in the Red Sea cities of Yanbu and Jizan owned by Aramco, the world’s largest oil company, Houthis’ military spokesman Gen. Yahya Saree said in a pre-recorded statement.
Saudi Arabia’s civil defense said the warnings were heard multiple times in both cities early Saturday, but the kingdom had no further comment.
No attacks were reported in Iran overnight; This means a pause in US attacks, which have been going on consecutive nights for almost two weeks.
Red Sea escalation further threatens global shipping The Houthis have said they will close the Bab al-Mandeb Strait to Saudi-linked shipping in retaliation for the kingdom’s blockade of Yemen and a recent attack on the international airport in Yemen’s rebel-held capital Sanaa.
Mahdi al-Mashat, head of the Houthi-led Supreme Political Council that governs rebel-controlled areas in Yemen, said the following about what should be done to prevent the Houthis from blockading Bab-al-Mandeb: “It is nothing but ending the offensive and lifting the blockade, otherwise everything is an illusion and a mirage.”
This strait at the southern tip of the Arabian Peninsula is a vital shipping chokepoint connecting the Red Sea to the Gulf of Aden. About 12% of world trade passes through narrow passages, including a quarter of container traffic.
The Houthis targeted two Saudi oil tankers in the Red Sea this week. Saudi Arabia struck Hodeida in response, the Saudi-led coalition opposing the rebels said on Saturday. Anes al-Asbahi, spokesman for the Houthi-controlled health ministry, said the port and the state-run telecommunications agency were hit and two people were injured in the attacks late Friday.
The Saudi-led coalition said it did not hit the port but hit “legitimate military targets” in Hodeida province “related to threats to commercial shipping in the Red Sea.”
Iranian foreign minister Abbas Araghchi called for “diplomacy and dialogue” to resolve the Yemen conflict without “military conflicts” in an interview published by state newspaper Iran on Saturday.
Iran condemns Ukraine’s attack on merchant ship Iranian Health Ministry spokesman Hossein Kermanpour did not immediately respond to a request for comment at the XUS Central Command. Unlike the previous 13 nights, no new strikes were announced.
However, Iran’s foreign ministry condemned Saturday’s attack by Ukraine on an Iranian commercial ship in the Caspian Sea, saying one person was killed and another was injured, describing it as an act of aggression.
In a separate statement, Araghchi said he had spoken about the issue with European Union foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas and that Tehran wanted a response. According to reports in Iranian state media, Ukraine’s diplomatic representative in Iran has been summoned.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy previously said on
As mediation efforts between the United States and Iran continue, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office said Friday that he plans to travel to the United States next week and meet President Donald Trump in Washington on Tuesday. They last met in Washington in February, weeks before starting the war.
More than 7,000 people have been killed, including in Lebanon. The tenuous ceasefire that has halted major operations for weeks looks set to unravel this month. The United States accused Iran of hitting three ships in the Strait of Hormuz and responded by striking dozens of targets in Iran; Iran also retaliated by firing on US-allied Gulf Arab countries.
The US military renewed the blockade of Iranian ports. Iran’s Revolutionary Guard advised residents of neighboring countries to stay away from bases where US soldiers are located.
War in Iran has killed more than 3,400 people, according to the Ministry of Health. It was reported that 18 US soldiers were killed throughout the region, 24 civilians in Israel and a smaller number of civilians, including foreign workers and sailors.
More than 4,000 people were killed in Lebanon as Iran-backed Hezbollah militants opened fire on Israel in support of the Islamic Republic two days after the war began, and Israel responded with airstrikes and ground forces. Thirty-eight Israeli soldiers also died.
