Houthis vow to respond to Saudi attacks on Hodeida

Iran-backed Houthi rebels in Yemen have accused Saudi Arabia of targeting civilian infrastructure amid growing tensions with Riyadh.

The Saudi-led coalition in Yemen said Saudi Arabia launched strikes on the Houthi-held port city of Hodeida on Friday in response to attacks on Saudi oil tankers in the Red Sea as part of a maritime blockade by the rebel group.

“The targeting of civilian facilities in Hodeida and Kamran Island by the Saudi enemy is a dangerous escalation,” the Houthis’ Ansarola media posted on Telegram.

“We affirm that these recent crimes will not go unanswered.”

Houthi-run Al Masirah television said Saturday that the Saudi strikes had targeted facilities belonging to the State Telecommunications Corporation and Kamran Island, off Yemen’s west coast.

The broadcaster reported that a worker was injured in Hodeida, while a woman was also injured on Kamran Island.

Meanwhile, the Saudi-led coalition claimed it attacked “Houthi military sites” and destroyed targets that were posing a threat to commercial vessels in the Red Sea.

Riyadh said it would take all necessary steps to protect its ships, and warned the Houthis that there would be no hesitation in responding if they “continued hostile acts.”

For top oil producer Saudi Arabia, the Red Sea has emerged as a vital shipping alternative to the war-blocked Strait of Hormuz.

After the Strait of Hormuz, the conflict has now engulfed one of the world’s vital energy shipping corridors – the Red Sea.

Earlier this week, Yemen’s Iran-backed Houthi rebels announced a blockade of Saudi ships in the Red Sea and then claimed attacks on two Saudi oil tankers if they were violated.

The Saudi-led coalition in Yemen responded on Friday by attacking the Houthi-held Yemeni port city of Hodeida. The coalition said it had only targeted “military” sites linked to threats against commercial shipping in the Red Sea.

But the Houthis accused the coalition of targeting civilian infrastructure and now say they will retaliate against Saudi Arabia.

Before we delve further into the deepening crisis in the Middle East, here is a rundown of developments in the region on Friday:

• America attacked Iran for the 13th consecutive night. Iranian state media reported explosions across the country.
• US President Donald Trump said Iran would pay the financial cost of any damage to ships or cargo amid the dispute over the Strait of Hormuz.
• Trump also claimed that Tehran was being “very serious” in its discussions with the US.
• On the other hand, Iran’s Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said that Tehran will hold accountable any country that assists the US in attacking the Islamic Republic.
• The Houthi rebel group in Yemen denied it was completely closing the Bab al-Mandeb strait, which connects the Red Sea to the Gulf of Aden and the Indian Ocean.

Stay tuned as we bring you the latest on the US-Iran war and the Middle East.