Saudi Arabia accuses Iran of encouraging Houthis — Dawn
Saudi Arabia has accused Iran of encouraging the Houthis to escalate their confrontation with the kingdom. Saudi Arabia’s Deputy Foreign Minister for Public Diplomacy, Rayed Krimly, said that Tehran continues to arm, train and support the group, Dawn reports.
According to Krimly, such support allegedly violates UN Security Council resolutions. He also said that Riyadh maintains direct contacts with Iran, but Tehran, in his view, is not yet capable of making the concessions necessary for a settlement.
Contacts through Oman
The Saudi official also accused the Houthis of refusing to meet in Muscat, Oman, at the start of the current escalation. According to him, this was the last contact between the sides, which took place several weeks ago.
In recent days, Saudi Arabia, the world’s largest oil exporter, has come under a series of attacks. These included a strike on Riyadh International Airport, which, according to Dawn, was the deadliest in several years.
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Coalition statements on attacks
The Saudi-led military coalition in Yemen said on October 15 that the Houthis had attempted to attack dozens of the kingdom’s airports, ports and oil facilities. Coalition spokesperson Turki al-Maliki claims that 20 attacks on King Khalid International Airport in Riyadh have been carried out this month. According to him, 17 people were killed and another 333 were injured as a result.
The coalition also said that attacks on Abha Airport in southwestern Saudi Arabia killed three people and injured 28. Al-Maliki claims that the Houthis received advanced military technology with the help of regional players, including ballistic missiles, drones and high-speed boats carrying explosives. He also said that the coalition had destroyed 127 weapons depots and launch platforms in Yemen’s mountainous areas.
Following the coalition’s statement, the Houthi military spokesperson again warned airlines of danger in Saudi Arabia’s airspace and at its airports, except for the airspace over Mecca and Medina. Yemen’s civil war escalated again in July after a UN-mediated truce collapsed. The Saudi coalition has been fighting the Houthis since 2015, when they seized Yemen’s capital, Sanaa, and forced the internationally recognized government out of the city.
