Saudi military strikes Iran-backed Houthi targets in Yemen
Fighters supporting the Aden-based, internationally recognized government of Yemen gathered during a vigil on the Red Sea coast in Khokha in Yemen’s western Hodeidah province on July 20, 2026, calling for the resumption of hostilities with the Houthi group, which now controls the capital Sanaa. (Photo: Khaled ZIAD / AFP via Getty Images)
Khaled Ziad | Afp | Getty Images
Saudi Arabia said on Saturday that coalition forces had struck Houthi militias in Yemen after the Iran-backed group claimed to have attacked two Saudi oil tankers in the Red Sea earlier in the week.
Air defenses in Saudi Arabia reportedly intercepted two ballistic missiles coming from Yemen.
The latest salvos appeared to indicate an escalation of fighting on a second front in the Iran war.
Maj. Gen. Turki Al-Malki, a spokesman for the Saudi-led Coalition to Restoring Legitimacy in Yemen, said Saudi attacks “are focused solely on legitimate military targets that terrorist Houthi militias use to threaten commercial shipping in the Red Sea.” expression.
US President Donald Trump on Thursday said he would hold Iran responsible for further attacks by the Houthis after the militant group said it had hit Saudi tankers.
“If they do this again, the US will hold Iran responsible because the Houthis are proxies and/or proxies of Iran, and major military penalties will be imposed on Iran and of course the Houthis,” he said in an interview published on Truth Social. to mail.
The Houthis declared a maritime embargo on Saudi Arabia on Monday, threatening to cut off the kingdom’s oil exports through the Red Sea and the Bab al-Mandeb Strait.
Al-Malki said the Houthis carried out a “reckless and cowardly act by targeting commercial ships in the Red Sea.”
Reuters quoted Greek security sources as saying that air defense systems in Saudi Arabia intercepted two ballistic missiles from Yemen targeting oil refineries in Yanbu on Saturday, a day after US forces launched new air strikes on Iran.
Saudi Civil Defense said this made various warnings He later said that the danger had passed for Yanbu, which was in the Red Sea. There was no immediate official report of the damage.
Sources stated that the defense system was operated by Greek military personnel.
US forces launched airstrikes on Iran late Thursday and early Friday, the 13th consecutive night of attacks.
It was reported that the army attacked a commercial ship trying to bypass the embargo on Iranian ports.
The Associated Press quoted US Central Command spokesman Capt. Tim Hawkins as saying American forces disabled the M/T Lavine in the Gulf of Oman after the ship attempted to breach the blockade at least four times.
Trump said he would decide soon whether to launch a “major attack” against Iran.
Pakistan is also seeking to restart stalled peace talks between the United States and Iran, Reuters reported Friday morning, citing three Pakistani sources.
To talk axios The president on Thursday said the proposed strikes would be larger than anything seen so far in the war and that Iran “hasn’t suffered enough yet.”
– Reuters and Associated Press contributed to this report.
