Houthi official warns of "painful response" if US joins Saudi strikes in Yemen war

Mixed · 2A Houthi official warned the US on 12 October that it would receive a "painful response" if it entered the war in Yemen, where Saudi Arabia has reportedly asked Washington for help in dealing with the group as it weathers repeated attacks. 1 2 Right · 1Houthi political bureau member Mohammed Al Bukhaiti told AFP that if the US joined what he called aggression against Yemen, there would be "a swift and painful response targeting the US and all its interests in the region". 2 Right · 1He also warned all employees and workers at Saudi oil facilities and airports to stay away from those sites, which he said had become "legitimate targets", and said the campaign aimed to tell the crown prince he could no longer wage aggression against Yemen "from a safe position". 2

Right · 1Yemen's civil war, in which a Saudi-led coalition backs the government against the Iran-backed Houthis, reignited in July, months into a wider regional conflict that has roiled energy markets; the Houthis then began targeting Saudi oil facilities, tankers and transport hubs. 2 Right · 1A 10 October strike on King Khalid International Airport in Riyadh killed 13 people and wounded hundreds, the deadliest attack on Saudi soil in more than a decade; four people died in earlier strikes on 7 and 8 October and another on 11 October, and airport operations remained suspended on 12 October. 2 Right · 1US President Donald Trump called the airport attack "not acceptable", said he would speak to Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman and that the US was "going to look at" joining Saudi strikes, having reportedly rebuffed earlier Saudi requests. 2

Right · 1Blasts were heard over Riyadh again on the night of 12 October, when the Saudi coalition said it intercepted a Houthi missile and phones received a "hostile aerial threat" alert, the first such alert in Riyadh in weeks. 2 Right · 1Saudi energy minister Prince Abdulaziz bin Salman said the events had "tested our infrastructure, our institutions, our people, and our resilience" and that the response "must be equally serious". 2 Right · 1The US embassy told government employees to get authorisation before using any Saudi airport and said American citizens had been detained for taking photos of recent events; Etihad and Gulf Air cancelled Riyadh flights, and Delta delayed its planned Atlanta–Riyadh launch. 2

Right · 1Analyst Thomas Juneau of Ottawa University said Saudi Arabia is too large to defend consistently, and UN rights chief Volker Turk, "appalled" by the attacks, urged both sides to back down. 2