Saudi Arabia launches airstrikes on Yemen as Houthis fire missiles at Saudi cities, escalating Middle East conflict

Saudi Arabia has launched hundreds of retaliatory airstrikes in Yemen following a major escalation by Iran-backed Houthi rebels, who targeted Saudi cities, the Yanbu oil port, and the Khamis Mushait airbase. Tensions peaked as Saudi forces intercepted a drone near Mecca, drawing sharp international condemnation, though the Houthis deny targeting the holy city. Meanwhile, Houthi control of the Bab el-Mandeb strait and a separate militia attack on the East-West Pipeline have disrupted global oil supplies, pushing Brent crude prices near $108 a barrel.

Saudi airstrikes on Yemen

• ▪Saudi warplanes and Saudi-backed forces in Yemen intensified airstrikes on Houthi positions, with Houthi military spokesman Yahya Saree accusing Saudi Arabia of launching 450 strikes.
• ▪Yemen's Houthi military spokesman Yahya Saree claimed the group shot down a Saudi F-15 fighter jet using a locally made air-to-air missile during hostile operations.

Houthi missile attacks

• ▪Yemen's Houthi rebels launched drone and missile strikes targeting the major Saudi Red Sea oil port of Yanbu and a southern Saudi airbase at Khamis Mushait.
• ▪A wave of ballistic missile and drone attacks launched from Yemen on September 14, 2026, wounded 13 people in southern Saudi Arabia.

Mecca targeting dispute

• ▪Houthi spokesmen Hazem al-Assad and Yahya Saree rejected Saudi claims of targeting Mecca, calling them a lie and stating their operations target oil facilities and military bases.
• ▪Saudi Arabia issued a security alert in Mecca on September 15, 2026, marking the first such alert in the holy city since a Houthi ballistic missile attempt in 2017.
• ▪Saudi Arabia stated its air defenses intercepted and destroyed a Houthi drone on September 15, 2026, before it could enter the airspace over Mecca.

Global oil supply disruption

• ▪An attack blamed on a pro-Iranian Iraqi militia knocked out Saudi Arabia's East-West Pipeline, putting 4 million barrels of oil per day at risk and driving Brent crude prices near $108 a barrel.
• ▪The United States tightened its travel warning for Saudi Arabia, banning government employees from traveling within 32 kilometers of the Yemen border.
• ▪The Houthis declared a maritime blockade on Saudi shipping and seized control of Yemen's Red Sea coast and the Bab el-Mandeb strait.

International condemnation

• ▪Yemen's permanent representative at the UN, Abdullah al-Saadi, called on the international community to take action against the Houthis to restore national institutions.
• ▪The Organization of Islamic Cooperation and Pakistan's Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif condemned the reported Houthi drone attack targeting the Mecca region.

Hezbollah Yellow Line incursions

• ▪Israeli artillery shelled the southern Lebanese towns of Mansouri, Beit Yahoun, and Aita al-Jabal in the Tyre and Bint Jbeil districts.
• ▪IDF Northern Command sources revealed Hezbollah is attempting to establish a presence within gaps of the Yellow Line in southern Lebanon, including the village of Al-Mansouri.

Debatable claims

• ▪Saudi Arabia should halt its military campaign against the Houthis
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