The Iran-backed Houthi insurgents of Yemen on Thursday claimed they “successfully carried out two military operations using drones,” including attacks on the airport and an oil facility in the Saudi Arabian city of Najran.
The Houthis claimed their targets were a “sensitive Saudi enemy site at Najran Airport” and a facility belonging to Saudi Aramco, the Saudi national energy company. The Najran region is located in southwestern Saudi Arabia, close to the border with Yemen.
The Saudi government did not immediately confirm whether the Houthi attacks actually took place, or if significant damage was inflicted on the airport or Aramco facility.
Hours before the purported attack, Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) issued a menacing statement that predicted: “Saudi Arabia will certainly be unable to contain Yemen and Ansar Allah, or remain safe from their attacks.”
“As we have seen in recent days, the more Saudi Arabia attacks, the more it is hit in return,” taunted IRGC spokesman Hossein Mohebi.
Ansar Allah, or “Army of Allah,” is the Houthis’ preferred name for their movement. Their official slogan is “Allah is Great, Death to America, Death to Israel, Curse Upon the Jews, Victory to Islam.”
Al Jazeera News reported on Thursday that forces loyal to Yemen’s legitimate government, which is supported by Saudi Arabia, carried out at least 81 attacks on Houthi positions over the previous 24 hours. Spokesmen for the government reported the “neutralization” of numerous Houthi fighters and commanders during these strikes.
Yemen’s civil war began in 2014. Saudi Arabia led a multinational intervention on behalf of the legitimate government from 2015 to 2022, when the Saudis and Houthis agreed to a ceasefire. The civil war was relatively stagnant until July 2026, when the Houthis launched new offensives to capture more territory, and Saudi and Yemeni forces resumed bombing the Houthis.
On July 20, the Houthis announced a “maritime ban” against Saudi shipping through the Red Sea, and threatened to shut down the vital Bab el-Mandeb Strait.
Both Houthi and Yemeni military sources told Agence France-Presse (AFP) this week that the Houthis are planning to capture more coastal land near the Bab el-Mandeb Strait.
“Our confirmed information indicates that the Houthi militia, under the direction and support of Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, is working to create the conditions to seize control of the Bab al-Mandeb Strait by expanding along the western coast and attempting to take control of strategic Yemeni islands in the Red Sea,” said Yemeni Information Minister Muammar al-Eryani.
The Yemeni minister said to expect “military build-ups and repeated attacks targeting ports, docks, civilian facilities, vessels, and government naval capabilities.”
Houthi military sources confirmed to AFP that they were planning to “launch a major military operation to seize areas under government control along the western coast.”
On Monday, U.N. High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Turk said he was alarmed by the prospect of a renewed Yemeni civil war making the already dire humanitarian situation in the country even worse.
“I call on all parties to de-escalate tensions and spare the Yemeni people from further misery. The Yemeni people have already suffered way too much from the devastating legacy of years of conflict, displacement and humanitarian crisis,” Turk said.
“Attacks on civilian infrastructure risk further deepening civilian suffering at a time when at least 18 million Yemenis are already food insecure. These attacks must end immediately,” he pleaded.