Riyadh: Saudi Arabia on Thursday accused Iran of encouraging the Houthis’ latest escalation against the kingdom.
It alleged that regional actors had helped the Yemen-based group acquire advanced military technology, including ballistic missiles, attack drones and explosive-laden boats.
The Saudi-led coalition fighting the Houthis said the group had obtained these capabilities with help from unnamed regional actors, without identifying the parties involved.
“The terrorist Houthi militias have worked to obtain advanced technologies with the help of regional actors,” coalition spokesperson Turki al-Malki said during a briefing in Riyadh.
He added that the group now possessed “ballistic missiles, attack and suicide drones, and fast explosive-laden boats”.
Iran accused of arming the Houthis.
Separately, Dr Rayed Krimly, deputy minister for public diplomacy at the Saudi foreign ministry, accused Tehran of continuing to arm, train and support the Houthis in violation of UN Security Council resolutions.
“Iran continues to arm, train and support the Houthi militia in violation of UN Security Council resolutions,” he told reporters at a virtual briefing.
He also alleged that Iran was behind the group’s latest escalation. “We think that the escalation by the Houthis at this latest stage of the conflict is encouraged by Iran,” he said.
Direct channel with Tehran, but no breakthrough
Despite the escalating hostilities, Krimly said Saudi Arabia remained in direct communication with Iran. However, Riyadh believed Tehran had yet to offer the concessions needed to resolve the conflict.
“We continue to have direct communications with Iran,” he said. “Overall, it doesn’t seem yet that the Iranians can provide the necessary concessions for a solution.”
Krimly also said Riyadh had tried to arrange a meeting with the Houthis in Muscat, Oman, but the group declined. “At the beginning of this escalation, we asked them to meet in Muscat, Oman, and they refused,” he said.
“This was the last communication which happened a few weeks ago.”
Attacks on airports and energy infrastructure
The coalition said the Houthis had intensified attacks on the kingdom’s transport hubs and energy infrastructure. According to al-Malki, the group carried out 20 attacks on Riyadh’s airport in October.
Presenting details of the strikes, he called on the Houthis to stop targeting civilian facilities. “The Houthis must immediately cease all terrorist operations targeting civilians and civilian facilities, including airports, ports, oil facilities, and infrastructure,” he said.
Saudi Arabia has faced sustained attacks in recent days, including a strike on Riyadh’s international airport that has been described as the deadliest in years.
The coalition also said it had thwarted a missile attack targeting the holy city of Medina and another attack in the eastern part of the kingdom.
Houthi military spokesperson Brigadier General Yahya Saree, however, denied that the group had carried out the attack. The Houthis had previously pledged not to target airports in the holy cities of Mecca and Medina.
Yemen war deepens amid wider regional conflict.
The latest escalation comes as Yemen’s civil war has intensified following the collapse of a UN-brokered truce in July, amid a wider West Asia war that has disrupted energy supplies and unsettled markets.
The Saudi-led coalition has been fighting the Houthis since 2015, when the rebels seized Yemen’s capital, Sanaa, and forced the internationally recognised government out of the city. The conflict continued until a UN-brokered ceasefire in 2022.
The war has also contributed to what the United Nations describes as one of the world’s worst humanitarian crises, leaving most of Yemen’s population dependent on humanitarian assistance.
