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UK prime minister backs Saudi security following Houthi Red Sea attacks

The UK’s new prime minister, Andy Burnham, condemned recent Houthi attacks and their threat to freedom of navigation in the Red Sea during a phone call with Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, the Saudi Press Agency reports.

The two leaders also discussed recent regional and international developments, with Burnham affirming the UK’s support for Saudi Arabia’s security and sovereignty.

Red Sea shipping falls after Houthi attack on Saudi Arabia

Ship traffic through the Bab el-Mandeb strait has slowed following Houthi attacks on Saudi oil installations along the Red Sea coast and their announcement of a naval blockade against Saudi Arabia, Reuters reports, citing shipping data from analytics platform Kpler.

Eleven commodity vessels passed through the Bab el-Mandeb strait on Sunday—the lowest level in months—according to the data. Seven of those vessels were oil tankers, with three entering the Red Sea and four exiting on Sunday.

Meanwhile, Kpler data also shows that fewer than 10 vessels per day passed through the Strait of Hormuz over the weekend, despite the US and Iran pausing their attacks.

On Saturday, only three vessels passed through with their transponders switched off, while seven vessels transited on Sunday, including three Iranian-linked oil products tankers exiting the strait, according to the Reuters report.

Siege on Yemen will backfire on Saudi Arabia, Houthi official says

Deputy Foreign Minister Abdulwahid Abu Ras says Saudi Arabia has failed to achieve its goals in Yemen after relying on the US, adding that it will also fail by depending on “local mercenaries and tools”.

In a statement to the Houthi-run Yemen News Agency (Saba), Abu Ras said: “America, with all its arrogance, failed in previous rounds to achieve its goals of subjugating the Yemeni people, yet the Saudi regime has not learned its lesson.”

He also warned that Riyadh’s insistence on maintaining the siege on Yemen, confiscating its wealth and tearing its social fabric will backfire on the Saudi economy.

Red Sea traffic off the coast of Yemen has been disrupted since last week by the Houthi movement, which declared a naval blockade on Saudi exports.

Houthis say drones targeted Saudi’s crude oil infrastructure

Iran-aligned Houthis in Yemen say they have targeted a number of “sensitive” crude oil supplies and transport sites linking eastern Saudi Arabia to the Red Sea city of Yanbu.

The group’s military spokesman Yahya Saree said the action was in response to what he described as Saudi drone incursions into Yemeni airspace.

“We targeted a number of sensitive sites and points related to crude oil supplies and transport from eastern Saudi Arabia to Yanbu with drones,” said Saree.

There was no immediate confirmation from Saudi Arabia or reports of damage or casualties.

Saudi Arabia says it reserves ‘right to respond’ after drone attack

Saudi Arabia’s Foreign Ministry has condemned attacks on the kingdom saying it reserves the right to respond to the source of “the aggression” and deter those responsible.

Saudi forces attacked Yemen’s Houthi-held city of Hodeidah on Friday in the latest escalation of their conflict during the regional war between the United States and Iran.

The port of Hodeidah is a crucial lifeline for the parts of Yemen under Houthi control, handling the bulk of commercial and humanitarian imports into Houthi-controlled northern Yemen.

Major-General Turki al-Maliki, spokesman for the Saudi-led coalition in Yemen, blamed the Houthis for the escalation, calling their attacks on Red Sea shipping “cowardly and reckless”.

Qatar condemns drone attacks targeting Saudi Arabia

Qatar has denounced attempted air strikes on Saudi Arabia’s oil facilities.

The projectiles that Riyadh said originated from Iraq are a “flagrant violation of Saudi sovereignty and a threat to its security and stability … and a blatant breach of international law”, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said in a statement.

Doha reiterated its solidarity with Riyadh, saying it “supported all legitimate measures it takes to preserve its sovereignty, security, and the safety of its lands”

Houthis target eastern Saudi Arabia’s oil facilities for first time since 2019

The extent of the damage to Saudi Arabia’s oil facilities has not yet been released by Saudi authorities.

What is clear is this marks the first time the Houthis have targeted oil infrastructure in eastern Saudi Arabia – namely Petroline, the 1,200km [750-mile] pipeline carrying crude from the kingdom’s eastern fields to the Red Sea port of Yanbu since 2019.

Since disruptions in the Strait of Hormuz, Saudi Arabia has leaned more heavily on this route now, moving up to 5 million barrels a day through it, up from about 1 million previously.

Saudi Arabia has said it “reserves the right to respond”. A likely response could include strikes on Hodeidah port, Kamaran Island and other Red Sea areas Riyadh says are used to launch drone and missile attacks on its tankers – as well as Sana'a International Airport.

The Houthis say Saudi strikes have hit civilian infrastructure in Yemen with limited impact on their military capabilities.

Kuwait condemns drone attacks targeting Saudi oil facilities

Kuwait has denounced attempted strikes on petroleum facilities in Saudi Arabia’s Eastern Region and Riyadh.

The drones, launched by Iran-backed militias in Iraq, are a “flagrant violation” of Saudi sovereignty and territorial integrity, and a breach of international law, the UN Charter and Security Council Resolution 2817, the Foreign Ministry said in a statement.

Kuwait reaffirmed its full solidarity with Riyadh, saying Saudi Arabia’s security is “an inseparable part” of Kuwait’s own security and that of the Gulf Cooperation Council.

US ‘not involved’ in Yemen fighting, says Trump

Referring to Yemen’s Houthis, Trump told reporters the US has been “dealing with Saudi Arabia” but is “not involved with that” currently.

“But, we may, you know, if there’s a problem,” he said.

The Houthis and Saudi Arabia have traded strikes in recent days, with the former announcing the imposition of a naval blockade on the kingdom’s ports.

Asked whether he has gotten any indication that Saudi Arabia will sign on to the so-called Abraham Accords, Trump said, “We haven’t talked about that.”

⁠On Friday, Trump said he would not go forward with a civil nuclear deal with Saudi Arabia unless the kingdom ⁠agreed to normalize relations with Israel under the accords.

Oman denounces attacks targeting Saudi Arabia

The Sultanate of Oman “strongly condemns and denounces the unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) attacks targeting the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia”, the Oman news agency reports.

Muscat added that it was “reaffirming its full solidarity with Saudi Arabia in all measures taken to protect its sovereignty, security and territorial integrity”.

Syria condemns attacks targeting Saudi Arabia

Syria has “strongly condemned” the attempted drone attack on oil facilities in Saudi Arabia, a statement posted on X by its Foreign Ministry says.

Damascus called the attack, which Riyadh said was launched by Iran-backed militias from Iraq, a violation of the kingdom’s security and stability and a threat to regional security.

The ministry affirmed Syria’s solidarity with Saudi Arabia and its support for all measures taken to protect its sovereignty, security and territorial integrity, reiterating its call for respect of states’ sovereignty.

Houthis say Saudi statements attempt to ‘cover up’ failure of drone interception systems

A source in the Houthi’s Ministry of Defense says that Saudi Arabia’s statements that it intercepted drones that it said were fired from Iraq by Iran-backed militias are an attempt “to cover up the failure of its defensive systems in detecting and intercepting Yemeni drones that successfully achieved their targets”.

In a post on social media, Nasruddin Amer, chairman of the board of directors of Yemeni News Agency Saba, reported the source as saying that Saudi Arabia “must respect Yemen’s sovereignty and independence, and bear the consequences of any violations it commits”.

The source concluded: “The Saudi enemy must end the siege on the Yemeni people by opening airports and ports, facilitating trade movement, releasing prisoners, respecting Yemen’s sovereignty, and its right to benefit from oil wealth in paying salaries and providing basic services.”

Houthis seeking to mirror Iran’s Hormuz model in Bab al-Mandeb, says Yemen FM

Yemen’s new foreign minister, Afrah al-Zouba, says the government “wants a peaceful resolution” to the conflict with the Houthis, but is “prepared for escalation” if the group “continues to push us”.

Al-Zouba told a small group of journalists, including Reuters, that there are “no direct talks” with the Houthis, though “there is an Omani role” in mediation. She claimed the Houthis were seeking to copy Iran’s model of controlling shipping in the Strait of Hormuz, this time in the Bab al-Mandeb, adding that they have been “emboldened” by an insufficiently serious international response to attacks on shipping in recent years.

She added that the Houthis and government forces “are exchanging fire along the front line,” though “so far no offensive” is under way, and said the Houthis want “direct flights from Iran” to fill gaps in military support, personnel, money and weapons.