Tensions rise as Houthis launch missile at Saudi Arabia

Tensions rise as Houthis launch missile at Saudi Arabia
Iran-backed Houthis have claimed responsibility for a missile attack targeting Saudi Arabia, hours after Saudi forces carried out air strikes against Houthi-linked positions in western Yemen.

According to the group’s Ansarollah media outlet on Telegram, the missile attack early Saturday triggered fires in the Saudi city of Jizan. Saudi authorities reportedly issued emergency alerts across the province following the incident.

The attack followed Friday’s Saudi air raids on Houthi targets in the Yemeni port city of Hodeida and the nearby Kamaran Island. The Houthis had earlier vowed to retaliate against the strikes.

The latest exchange of hostilities came as the broader Middle East experienced its first night in two weeks without reported air strikes by either the United States or Iran.

The US military also refrained from announcing fresh attacks on Iran after carrying out 13 consecutive nights of strikes. During the same period, Iran launched drone attacks against US military installations and bases across the region.

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Meanwhile, an Omani delegation arrived in Tehran for discussions on the security of the Strait of Hormuz, according to Iran’s state-run IRNA news agency. Oman oversees the southern coastline of the strategic waterway.

Speaking at the White House on Friday, US President Donald Trump said diplomatic engagement with Iran was ongoing while warning that military action remained an option.

“We are talking to them. I think they’re being serious. I think … they are being by far the most serious that we’ve seen them, but that doesn’t mean we get there,” he said.

Responding to questions about his strategy for ending the conflict, Trump said:”There’s a military exit where we just keep going just the way we are, and we can even make it a heavier dose, and it’s knocking out everything they have. Or there’s a smarter strategy that you make a deal.”

He added:”We’re locked and loaded. We’re ready to go.”

Elsewhere, the US military disclosed that it disabled a tanker in the Gulf of Oman on Friday after the vessel allegedly attempted to evade Washington’s blockade on Iranian ports.

The ship became the second commercial vessel disabled by US forces since the blockade was reinstated earlier this month.

“We disabled the tanker after the crew attempted to run the blockade at least four times prior,” Navy Captain Tim Hawkins, spokesman for US Central Command, told AFP.

“The crew was repeatedly warned, didn’t comply, and US forces on scene disabled the ship after firing into its engine room,” he said. “The ship is no longer transiting to Iran.”

Growing concerns over threats to commercial shipping in the Red Sea linked to Houthi activities had pushed crude oil prices above $100 per barrel earlier in the week, marking their highest level since May.

However, prices retreated on Friday, with Brent crude futures falling by more than $4 to just above $96 per barrel. Reuters attributed the decline to the successful transit of two Chinese-chartered supertankers through the Bab el-Mandeb Strait.

Following the reported missile exchange, Ansarollah media condemned Saudi operations in Yemen.

“The Saudi enemy’s targeting of civilian facilities in Hodeida and Kamaran island constitutes a dangerous escalation,” the group said, adding: “We affirm that these recent crimes will not go unanswered.”

Saudi officials had not issued an immediate response to the Houthi claims.

Meanwhile, the United States and the United Kingdom are expected to host a conference in London next week focused on security in the Strait of Hormuz. The meeting is expected to be attended by US Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth and Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Dan Caine.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is also scheduled to meet President Trump at the White House on Tuesday as diplomatic efforts continue amid persistent regional tensions.

The renewed hostilities come despite a 14-point Memorandum of Understanding signed by the United States and Iran in June, which sought to halt military operations, reopen the Strait of Hormuz and pave the way for ending the conflict within 60 days. The agreement later collapsed after renewed Iranian attacks on shipping in the strait and subsequent US military strikes.

(BBC)