Fighters supporting Yemen’s internationally recognized Aden government gather during a vigil on the Red Sea coast in Khokha, in Yemen’s western Hodeidah province on July 20, 2026, demanding a resumption of war with the Houthi group that currently controls the capital Sanaa. (Photo by Khaled ZIAD / AFP via Getty Images)
Khaled Ziad Afp | Getty Images
Saudi Arabia said on Saturday its coalition forces attacked Houthi forces in Yemen after the Iran-backed group said it attacked two Saudi oil tankers in the Red Sea earlier in the week.
Defense aircraft in Saudi Arabia reportedly intercepted two ballistic missiles from Yemen.
The latest salvos appeared to signal an escalation of hostilities in Iran’s second war zone.
The Saudi strikes “focus only on legitimate military targets used by Houthi terrorists to threaten commercial vessels in the Red Sea,” said Major General Turki Al-Malki, spokesman for the Saudi-led Coalition to Restore Legitimacy in Yemen, in a statement.
On Thursday, US President Donald Trump said he would hold Iran responsible for the Houthis’ continued attacks, after the militant group said it had hit Saudi tanks.
“If they do this again, the US will hold Iran accountable, saying the Houthis are Iran’s Surrogate and/or Proxy, and heavy military punishment will be inflicted on Iran and, of course, the Houthis, themselves,” he said in a Truth Social post.
The Houthis announced a naval blockade against Saudi Arabia on Monday, threatening to cut off the kingdom’s oil exports through the Red Sea and the Bab el-Mandeb Strait.
Al-Malki said the Houthis committed a “reckless and cowardly act by targeting commercial ships in the Red Sea.”
Reuters cited Greek security sources as saying that Saudi Arabia’s air defense systems intercepted two missiles from Yemen on Saturday aimed at oil refineries in Yanbu, a day after the US military launched new airstrikes on Iran.
Saudi Civil Defense said it had issued several warnings for Yanbu, in the Red Sea, and later said the danger had passed. There were no official reports of damage.
The defense system was used by the Greek military, the sources said.
The US military began airstrikes in Iran late Thursday and early Friday, the 13th night in a row.
The military reportedly attacked a merchant ship that was trying to bypass its Iranian port restrictions,
The Associated Press quoted US Central Command spokesman Capt. Tim Hawkins says the US military disabled the M/T Lavine in the Gulf of Oman after the ship attempted to intercept it at least four times.
Trump said he would soon decide whether to launch a “major attack” on Iran.
At the same time, Pakistan is looking at ways to restart stalled peace talks between the US and Iran, Reuters reported on Friday morning, citing three Pakistani sources.
Speaking to Axios on Thursday, the president said the proposed strikes would be bigger than anything seen in the war so far, and that Iran “hasn’t received enough pain yet.”
– Reuters and The Associated Press contributed to this report.
