Middle East crisis live: Houthi foreign ministry says ‘worse yet to come’ if Saudi strikes continue | Houthis
Houthi foreign ministry says ‘worse yet to come’ if Saudi strikes continue
The Houthi’s foreign ministry in Yemen has also put out a statement being carried by Houthi media.
They threatened again that continued Saudi military action in Yemen would lead to an even stronger response. Echoing what military spokesman Saree said earlier in his airport warning – they said their actions were “guided by reciprocity” – as in they say they’re responding to Saudi strikes on their area in Yemen.
“Unless the Saudi enemy stops its aggression and interference in Yemen, worse is yet to come, God willing,” the ministry said in statements carried by Houthi-run Al Masirah television.
As I reported earlier, the Saudi-backed Yemeni government forces launched a major counter-offensive this week to drive back the Houthis from the Bab al-Mandab strait and hit other Houthi positions along the Red Sea. How successful that has been is still unclear.
But the Houthis are striking back with slightly different targets- choosing to escalate their attacks on civilian airspaces as well as Saudi oil facilities. They have repeatedly said their aim is to remove Saudi influence from Yemen.
Key events
UK advises against travel to parts of Saudi Arabia
The UK Foreign Office has updated guidance for British nationals following the deadly Houthi attack on Saturday.
It has advised against:
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All travel to within 10km of the border with Yemen
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All but essential travel to Aseer province, Riyadh province, Najran province, Jizan province and Taif city and Taif International Airport
There are an estimated 20,000- 30,000 British nationals living in Saudi Arabia, although those numbers have presumably fluctuated since the war began and Iran and its allies fought back against US and Israeli strikes by targeting cities like Dubai and Doha, in Gulf states allied with the US.
In the first fortnight of the war earlier this year in March, more than 102,000 Britons across the Middle East registered with the Foreign Office for help.
UAE expresses ‘full solidarity’ with Saudi Arabia
Frances Mao
Some more Gulf reaction to Houthi’s deadly airport attack and continued threats to target Saudi airspace.
In a significant message, the United Arab Emirates has issued a statement in solidarity with Saudi Arabia – expressing support for “all measures aimed at safeguarding the kingdom’s security and stability”.
The UAE message is improtant given the major rupture in relations this year between the two oil-rich kingdoms, first sparked by lingering divisions in Yemen, and made worse by the Iran War and arguments over oil prices which led to the UAE quitting OPEC (currently led by the Saudis) after six decades of membership.
In Yemen in particular, the two Gulf states have significant history.
Both the UAE and Saudi Arabia bankrolled anti-Houthi forces in Yemen during the civil war from 2015-2022, and the UAE-backed forces were seen as particularly successful.
But relations broke down in January this year when the UAE-backed force in Yemen, which was a seperatist group trying to create a breakaway southern state, was attacked and defeated by Saudia Arabia.
That led the UAE to pull out of Yemen altogether. But the UAE were viewed as the most knowledgeable and effective authorites on the ground in the fight against the Houthis; when the Houthis launched their lightning offensive in September to take areas along the Red Sea and secure the Bab al-Mandab chokepoint, they were able to quickly seize areas and defeat the authorities in them previously backed by the UAE.
It’s since been suggested that Saudi Arabia might need to reconcile with the UAE to form a military alliance again to drive the Houthis back.
So this latest message from the UAE’s foreign ministry will be closely read.
The UAE foreign ministry criticised the “flagrant violation” of Saudi Arabia’s sovereignty and “reaffirmed the UAE’s full solidarity with Saudi Arabia and its support for all measures aimed at safeguarding the kingdom’s security and stability.”
Patrick Wintour
The Guardian’s diplomatic correspondent Patrick Wintour has offered some context on the latest between the Houthis and the Saudi kingdom.
Saturday’s incident comes amid an escalation of missile strikes by Yemen’s Iran-aligned Houthis on the kingdom. The airport has already been attacked twice this week, leaving four people dead and others wounded, and badly damaging an aircraft.
The Houthis have repeatedly attacked Saudi airports, oil facilities and tankers after a truce in their long-running war with Yemen’s Riyadh-backed government unravelled in July.
The attack came as forces allied to the UN-recognised government in Yemen claim to have mounted a successful offensive to retake the Bab al-Mandab strait from Houthi rebels, but accounts vary as to whether the push has been repelled.
Houthi foreign ministry says ‘worse yet to come’ if Saudi strikes continue
The Houthi’s foreign ministry in Yemen has also put out a statement being carried by Houthi media.
They threatened again that continued Saudi military action in Yemen would lead to an even stronger response. Echoing what military spokesman Saree said earlier in his airport warning – they said their actions were “guided by reciprocity” – as in they say they’re responding to Saudi strikes on their area in Yemen.
“Unless the Saudi enemy stops its aggression and interference in Yemen, worse is yet to come, God willing,” the ministry said in statements carried by Houthi-run Al Masirah television.
As I reported earlier, the Saudi-backed Yemeni government forces launched a major counter-offensive this week to drive back the Houthis from the Bab al-Mandab strait and hit other Houthi positions along the Red Sea. How successful that has been is still unclear.
But the Houthis are striking back with slightly different targets- choosing to escalate their attacks on civilian airspaces as well as Saudi oil facilities. They have repeatedly said their aim is to remove Saudi influence from Yemen.
Patrick Wintour
Why else has the US been reluctant to intervene so far in Saudi Arabia’s fight?
The Houthis have repeatedly attacked Saudi airports, oil facilities and tankers after a truce in their long-running war with Yemen’s Riyadh-backed government unravelled in July.
Saturday’s attack might change things but Donald Trump has been reluctant so far to help out Saudi Arabia for several reasons, as my colleague Patrick Wintour explains:
The US has its hands full and its munitions stocks are empty due to the war in Iran.
Ahead of the midterms, Donald Trump does not want to launch another forever war.
After bombing the Houthis for 50 days in spring 2025, he struck a bilateral ceasefire with the Houthis – a deal that excluded Israel.
He has twice rejected Saudi pleas that the fate of the strait is a matter for the world.
Trump evaluating Houthi strikes
An American citizen was among the 12 killed in the airport attack yesterday. For weeks now there’s been speculation over whether the US will join Saudi Arabia in carrying out air strikes against the Iran-backed Houthis in Yemen.
When fighting recommenced last month with the Houthis, Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman had reportedly called Donald Trump to request military assistance. The US president committed only military intelligence and targeting help rather than send war planes.
On Saturday, following the deadly airport attack, Trump was asked by reporters if the US would take a more active position and join in the Saudi strikes.
“We may. We’re going to look at it. We just found out about the recent attack, so we’ll make a decision. We move very quickly,” he said.
He later said he also planned to speak with Saudi Arabia’s leader.
Asked again by reporters if the U.S. might get involved, Trump responded, “We’ll find out.”
The fighting between Saudi Arabia and the Houthis in Yemen this past month have marked a new front in the Iran war, further driving up global oil and fuel prices as Saudi Arabia is the world’s top oil exporter and had been delivering its output through the Red Sea which has seen shipping attacks by Iran’s ally in recent weeks.
The US is now in the seventh month of the war it began against Iran in February, and across American states gasoline prices have surged 47%.
Trump’s approval rating has also dropped from 41% in Feburary to 37%- his lowest level yet ahead of the midterm elections next month.
Global condemnation of ‘attack on civilians’
There’s been a strong condemnation of this morning of the Houthi’s deadly strike on Saudi Arabia’s largest airport. Global leaders say attacks on civilians must stop.
UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres said he was “deeply shocked” by Saturday’s strike.
“Attacks on civilians and civilian infrastructure are a violation of international law. These attacks must cease immediately,” he said.
Meanwhile EU chief Ursula von der Leyen said the European Union stands “in solidarity with Saudi Arabia”, noting the “murderous attack on civilians” as a “dangerous escalation” in the wider war.
These “attacks by Iran’s proxies are pushing the region into a spiral of violence. They are destabilizing crucial global transport and energy nodes with shockwave sent through the world,” she said.
The EU as a bloc has not sent any direct military aid to Saudi Arabia since fighting recommenced with the Houthis last month. The Saudis have asked France and Germany directly for aid; France has sent military equipment.
The UK meanwhile has sent air defences and RAF Voyager refuelling aircraft to Saudi Arabia since late September, in part says the government to help keep Red Sea oil flows open.
This morning UK Defence Secretary Wes Streeting said Houthi attacks on civilian sites “is one of the reasons why the UK is providing support to Saudi Arabia in the form of air defences and air-to-air resupplying”.
Meanwhile in the Middle East region, Iraq, which neighbours Saudi Arabia, warned this morning that the attack endangered “regional security and stability”.
As you can expect, passengers have been avoiding Saudia Arabia’s main international airport since the major attack yesterday.
King Khalid remains closed today. It remains to be seen if operations will continue at other Saudi airports.
The Houthis earlier in the week had warned commercial airlines “for the last time” about the consequences of flying into Saudi airspace, noting it was a theatre of fighting.
Several airlines have previously suspended flights during the past month as the Iran War has expanded to this new front. Air India, FlyDubai, Lufthansa Group and Pakistan International Airlines had all temporarily paused their routes into Riyadh and other Saudi cities.
Houthis renew threat against Saudi airspace
The Houthis this morning have just also issued a warning to travellers and airlines to stay away from Saudi airports following yesterday’s attack.
It’s the first public message from the group since Saturday’s deadly assault.
Houthi military spokesman Yahya Saree said Mecca and Medina – the holiest cities in Islam – were excepted but the other Saudi airports and airspace “are exposed to targeting and constitute a theatre of operations for our forces”.
He warned the public to “take our warning seriously” and also claimed that “Saudi Arabia bears responsibility for any failed interceptions”.
The Gulf state has been asking the US and other Western allies for more missile interceptors since the fighting escalated.
Saree ended his post by saying his group is pursuing: “airport for airport, siege for siege, and escalation for escalation” until they achieved their goals.
All week the Houthis have been striking the main airport in the Saudi capital as Saudi Arabia has increased strikes on Houthi territory in Yemen. The Houthi-run health ministry says 91 Yemenis have been killed and 168 injured in the past five weeks due to Saudi-led attacks. It said 60% of those killed were women and children.
This week, the Saudi-led coalition backing the Yemeni government forces launched a major counter-offensive to try and push back the rebel group who’ve rapidly seized and gained territory since September.
The Houthis have taken over islands in the Bab al- Mandab strait and also staked positions along the Red Sea, tightening their grip on the crucial passageway through which Saudi Arabia, a top oil exporter, had been diverting flows as the Strait of Hormuz remains shut off.
12 killed at Riyadh airport and hundreds wounded in Saturday strike
Saturday’s attack was the third launched on the Saudi capital’s main airport this week- with the missile making it past Saudi air defences to strike terminals 3 and 4 of King Khalid airport where hundreds of passengers were awaiting domestic flights.
The attack killed at least 12 people and injured 309 at last count, say Saudi officials.
The dead include four Saudi citizens, two Bangladeshi nationals, a Palestinian, a US citizen, an Egyptian, a Jordanian, a Syrian and a Sudanese.
A projectile also fell near the King Fahd international airport in Dammam, according to the Saudi-led coalition fighting the Houthis.
The Dammam airport has been an important alternative to Riyadh amid the recent spate of attacks.
Opening summary
Good morning and welcome to our live coverage of rapidly unfolding events in the Middle East.
After attacking Saudi Arabia’s main international airport on Saturday in strikes which killed at least 12 people and injured 309, the Houthis have issued another message this morning about the kingdom’s airports.
In response to the Houthi’s assault – the deadliest in Saudi Arabia in over a decade – US President Donald Trump has said Washington may join the Saudis in carrying out air strikes against the Iran-backed group in Yemen.
Trump said: “We may. We’re going to look at it. We just found out about the recent attack, so we’ll make a decision. We move very quickly.”
