Saudi Arabia Strives to Avoid Renewed War With Yemen’s Houthis
- Tensions have risen between Kingdom and Iran-backed Houthis
- Saudi Arabia urging Yemen government to help de-escalate
An investigator removes shards of glass from an apartment window following a Houthi drone strike in Tel Aviv, Israel, on July 19.
Photographer: Kobi Wolf/BloombergSaudi Arabia is increasingly anxious over the situation in neighboring Yemen, where Iran-backed Houthi militants have stepped up hostilities with Israel and threatened to attack the oil-rich kingdom over claims it’s waging economic warfare against them.
Riyadh fears being drawn into a new direct conflict with the Houthis, according to several people familiar with the Saudi government’s strategy, who asked not to be identified due to the sensitivity of the matter. Saudi Arabia previously fought the militant group for seven years from 2015 in a conflict that devastated Yemen, leaving an estimated 370,000 people dead from fighting and famine.