Saudi Arabia said on Friday that its air defense systems had intercepted a ballistic missile over the southern city of Najran. It was the last in a series of escalating attacks from Iranian-backed Houthi rebels, who have consistently targeted Saudi infrastructure in retaliation for the Saudi leadership war against their rebellion in neighboring Yemen.
Another missile hit an Aramco petroleum distribution terminal in Jizan city at night, sparking a fire in one of the terminal’s tanks, the Saudi energy ministry said in a statement.
The Houthis quickly claimed the attacks, along with attempted kamikazi drone strikes.
Al Ekhbariya / Saudi Broadcasting Authority
“Our forces targeted the Saudi enemy’s military and vital headquarters and installations, with 18 drones and eight ballistic missiles,” Houthis military spokesman Yahya Sareaa said in a televised statement on Friday, promising the attacks would continue.
Saudi state media showed images of debris allegedly coming from several explosive-laden drones launched on the kingdom by the Houthis, according to the Ministry of Defense. The ministry condemned the “cowardly” attacks in a statement on Twitter, accusing the Houthis of threatening energy supplies.
The latest attacks come just days after Saudi Arabia made a new proposal to end the war in Yemen, in which the kingdom backed the government against the Houthis. Saudi Foreign Minister Prince Faisal Bin Farhan explained the plan on Monday, including an immediate UN-controlled ceasefire, the reopening of the airport in the rebel-occupied capital of Saana, and the Saudi-led military coalition that will lift the rebel’s blockade. -hero port of Hodeidah.
As a goodwill gesture, the Saudi Arabia-led coalition cleared four fuel ships on Friday to dock at Hodeidah, a strategic port on the Red Sea, according to local media.
The Houthis have rejected the advances and reiterated their demand for the Saudi coalition to immediately lift the entire air and naval blockade in order to stifle supplies to their territory, which includes most of Yemen.
“How come those who started the war now claim that they are eager to mediate in peace in our country?” Houthi leader Abdul-Malik al-Houthi said in a televised address on Thursday. “The lifting of the blockade and other humanitarian issues could not be part of political or military negotiations. We would never accept that.”
Andrew Harnik / AP
Meanwhile, Washington’s special envoy to Yemen, Tim Lenderking, returned to the region on Friday in a new one pressure to get the warring factions of Yemen to the negotiating tableThe veteran US diplomat returned from his second trip to the region only two weeks ago, where he held shuttle meetings across four countries to try to bring about a ceasefire.
The Houthi’s chief negotiator, Mohamed Abdel Salam, said on Friday that Oman-brokered talks with the US envoy and the Saudis were still ongoing even as the Houthi forces launched the new attacks on Saudi Arabia.
“Ideas and proposals are currently being exchanged with the US and UN envoys, as well as with the Saudis, through the brothers in the sultunate of Oman,” he told Arab network Aljazeera. “The discussions revolve around humanitarian efforts, among other supposed steps to achieve a ceasefire and pave the way for political dialogue.”
But Saudi Arabia’s leaders say the latest Houthi attacks are further evidence that the rebels are not really interested in ending the war.
“ The attack on the petroleum distribution station in Jizan and the attempt to target civilians is a confirmation of the rejection by the Houthi terrorist militia of the Kingdom’s initiative to end the Yemeni crisis, and a confirmation of Iranian custody of the political and military decision of the militia, ”the Saudi defense ministry said in a statement Friday.
The war in Yemen has entered its seventh year this week. The UN Humanitarian Office estimates that the conflict – considered by many to be a proxy war between arch-rivals Saudi Arabia and Iran and played out at the expense of the Yemeni people – claimed at least 233,000 lives, mostly civilians.
The UN has said that the conflict is the worst man-made humanitarian crisis in the world.
While the US continues to support the government of Yemen, in February President Joe Biden announced the end of US support for offensive operations by the Saudi-led coalition and called for an end to the conflict.
“This war must end,” said Mr Biden in his first major foreign policy speech after taking office.