According to IRNA, Yemen's armed forces announced that they conducted a missile and drone strike against targets in Saudi Arabia's capital Riyadh and the western port city of Jeddah. According to ISNA's report, following the strike allegations, flight traffic at Riyadh airport was halted. The Saudi-led coalition, however, characterized the Houthis' claim as "misleading" and denied it.
According to Kayhan's report, Houthi spokesperson Yahya Saree claimed they carried out a "precise" strike against Aramco facilities in Riyadh, achieving direct hits on targets and causing widespread fire. He claimed satellite thermal images showed high heat intensity. Saree stated this was in response to Saudi Arabia's strikes on Sanaa and other Yemeni cities, and that they would respond "blockade with blockade." According to Kayhan, in the same hours Yemeni forces advanced south of Taiz, forcing Saudi-aligned commanders to withdraw from the "Tarib" and "Shamayteen" areas.
However, according to Al Jazeera, coalition spokesperson Turki al-Maliki found the Houthis' claims of targeting Riyadh "misleading" and did not confirm that a strike had occurred. Haaretz reported the Houthi claim as a ballistic missile and drone strike against an Aramco facility in Riyadh, but noted there was no independent verification. The scope and impact of the strike therefore remain "unconfirmed"; the two sides make contradictory statements.
How the Persian press covered it
| Source (orientation) | Headline / framing |
|---|---|
| IRNA (state news agency) | Simple news language: "Missile and drone strike from Yemen on Riyadh and Jeddah." |
| ISNA (semi-official) | Conveys the story only through Riyadh airport flight suspensions, omitting verification detail. |
| Kayhan (hardline) | Frames the strike as "Aramco still burning," justifying it, and connects it to ground advances in Taiz on the same date. |
Context
The civil war in Yemen, ongoing since 2014, between the Houthi movement and Saudi-backed Yemen government has escalated since the fragile ceasefire of 2022 collapsed in July. The Houthis are considered close to Iran; strike allegations and Saudi denial demonstrate the information war dimension of the conflict. This incident follows the previous day's Aramco strike report, continuing the fighting. The claim of ground advance in Taiz aligns with intensifying front-line news from the same period.
The Saudi coalition's finding the claim "misleading" relates to the Houthis' known history of exaggerated or unverifiable claims of success. Therefore, the true scope of the strike will only become clear when independently verified by outside sources.
According to Kayhan's detailed reporting of the Taiz front, Yemeni forces expanded control of the Sami district south of Taiz and captured numerous villages and hilly terrain connected to the Hacriya district; Yemen's Supreme Political Council spokesperson said Saudi-aligned military and political commanders fled from "Tarib" and "Shamayteen," with some sources saying revolutionary forces entered the city directly. According to the same report, Yemeni forces also took control of a critical aid corridor between Taiz and Aden; local sources reported residents of several villages had driven out Riyadh-backed forces. Kayhan wrote that Saudi-aligned brigades faced morale, reinforcement, food, and ammunition shortages, with one mountain infantry brigade "suspiciously" withdrawing from its positions.
According to Kayhan's detail citing the US press (Politico), Washington is currently declining Riyadh's request for direct combat participation for practical reasons including the complexity of the Iran front, limited air strike experience, and ammunition shortages. This also indicates that the flight suspensions and airport closures mentioned by ISNA are not limited to the Yemen-Saudi axis alone.
For information only; not investment advice.
