Riyadh, October 15,2026: Saudi Arabia on Thursday accused Iran of encouraging Yemen’s Houthi movement to escalate attacks against the kingdom, alleging that Tehran continues to arm, train and support the group in violation of United Nations Security Council resolutions.
Dr Rayed Krimly, deputy minister for public diplomacy at the Saudi foreign ministry, made the allegations during a virtual briefing with reporters, saying Riyadh believed Iran was encouraging the Houthis’ latest escalation.
Krimly said Saudi Arabia remained in direct communication with Iran but added that Tehran had yet to demonstrate a willingness to make the concessions needed to reach a solution.
He also accused the Houthis of refusing a Saudi request to meet in Muscat, Oman, several weeks ago as fighting intensified.
The statements came amid a sharp escalation in the conflict, with Saudi Arabia facing sustained attacks, including a strike on King Khalid International Airport in Riyadh that was described as the deadliest in years.
Yemen’s civil war reignited in July after a United Nations-brokered truce collapsed, following months of a wider Middle East conflict that has disrupted regional security, energy supplies and markets.
The conflict has also contributed to what the United Nations describes as one of the world’s worst humanitarian crises, leaving much of Yemen’s population dependent on humanitarian assistance.
The Saudi-led coalition has fought the Houthis since 2015, when the group seized the capital, Sanaa, and forced the internationally recognised government out of the city. A UN-brokered ceasefire took effect in 2022.
Separately, the Saudi-led military coalition in Yemen said the Houthis had attempted to attack dozens of Saudi airports, ports and oil facilities.
Coalition spokesperson Turki al-Maliki said the group had launched 20 attacks on King Khalid International Airport in Riyadh this month, killing 17 people and injuring 333 others.
He added that Houthi attacks on Abha airport in southwestern Saudi Arabia, near the Yemeni border, had killed three people and wounded 28.
Al-Maliki alleged that the Houthis had acquired advanced military technology with assistance from regional actors, including ballistic missiles, drones and explosive-laden fast boats.
He also said coalition forces had destroyed 127 weapons storage facilities and launch platforms in Yemen’s mountainous areas.
The spokesperson called on the Houthis to immediately halt attacks targeting civilians and civilian infrastructure, urging the group to take the coalition’s statement seriously.
Shortly after the coalition’s announcement, a Houthi military spokesperson warned that Saudi airspace and airports were unsafe and renewed a warning to airlines, while excluding airspace over the holy cities of Makkah and Madinah.
