Saudi officials accused Tehran of encouraging Houthi missile and drone strikes that killed 19 people, while analysts note the rebels’ growing autonomy.
Houthi missile and drone strikes across Saudi Arabia have killed at least 19 people, including foreigners, during more than a week of attacks on aviation, oil and military sites, Saudi officials announced Thursday.
Turki al-Maliki, spokesperson for the Saudi-led coalition in Yemen, said strikes on King Khalid International Airport in Riyadh alone killed 17 people and wounded 333 between Oct. 7 and Oct. 11, according to Fox News.
In a briefing in Cairo, Rayed Krimly, deputy minister for public diplomacy at the Saudi foreign ministry, accused Tehran of encouraging the offensive, PBS NewsHour reported. Krimly characterized the strikes as war crimes and said Iran continues to arm, train and assist the rebels in violation of United Nations Security Council resolutions and the Beijing agreement that restored diplomatic ties between Riyadh and Tehran.
Airport strikes and civilian casualties
Al-Maliki said King Khalid International Airport has faced 20 separate attacks since Oct. 1, with an assault on Oct. 10 involving 10 drones, missiles and other projectiles. The projectiles traveled more than 620 miles from Yemen to Riyadh, striking Terminal Four and prompting an investigation into potential Saudi air defense failures.
Saudi forces intercepted two ballistic missiles targeting the capital on Monday. On Tuesday, a strike hit the headquarters of oil giant Aramco in Dhahran, starting a fire that burned across several floors. Earlier in the month, Houthis strike Saudi oil sites and severed supply routes in Yemen. The attacks followed earlier warnings after the Houthis threaten airport strikes against civilian aviation hubs.
Dispute over Iran’s role and rebel independence
Saudi officials maintain that Tehran is orchestrating the current wave of violence. Krimly said the kingdom believes the escalation is encouraged by Iran, which doesn’t seem ready to offer necessary concessions to settle its wider conflict with the United States. He also stated that Saudi Arabia suspects elements in China and Russia are supplying intelligence and components to both Iran and the Houthis, noting that Riyadh discusses those issues regularly with Moscow and Beijing.
Former U.S. special envoy for Yemen Tim Lenderking offered a different view during a Middle East Institute briefing. While acknowledging Iran’s past assistance enabled the group’s rise, Lenderking said the rebels have developed homegrown capabilities and extensive smuggling routes that allow them to sustain high-precision operations on their own. “The Houthis don’t really need the Iranians anymore,” Lenderking said.
Lenderking explained that the Houthis generate independent revenue through black-market oil sales, local taxes and commercial extortion. He added that the rebels recruit fighters by forcing Yemeni families to send sons to the front lines. The group also acquires commercial components over the internet and uses front companies, including networks seeking Chinese parts for medium-range ballistic missiles.
Stalled diplomacy and regional defense
Direct efforts to halt the fighting have made little progress. Krimly disclosed that Saudi Arabia invited the Houthis to a July meeting in Oman to resolve differences, but the rebels rejected the invitation. Days after that refusal, Houthi fighters swept down Yemen’s Red Sea coast to capture territory along the Bab el-Mandeb Strait, prompting a major Saudi-led counteroffensive earlier this month.
Although Oman facilitates direct communication channels between Saudi Arabia and the Houthis, formal peace discussions remain frozen. Saudi and Iranian foreign ministers spoke by phone during the recent airport attacks, but Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi labeled the Saudi blockade on the Houthis unjust and illegal on Thursday.
Broader negotiations involving Qatar and Pakistan have also stalled. Those talks aim to balance safe passage for vessels through the Strait of Hormuz against the lifting of the U.S. blockade on Iranian oil ports, alongside guarantees regarding Iran’s nuclear program. Krimly said Iranian negotiators take a long time to answer and offer insufficient proposals for temporary arrangements.
When asked whether American forces would step in to protect Saudi Arabia from incoming strikes, President Donald Trump responded, “You’ll find out soon.”
