The UK is dispatching fighter jets and military transport aircraft to defend Saudi Arabia against attacks from Iran-backed Houthi Islamic terrorists of Yemen, boosting its ally after the kingdom has been pummelled by strikes from the militant group in recent weeks.
The escalation between the Saudis and the rebels in neighboring Yemen has exposed the kingdom's challenges in intercepting the attacks in the latest front in the Iran war, while further rattling global markets.
Iran-backed Houthi rebels hit the headquarters of the Saudi state-owned oil company Aramco in an overnight strike, two regional officials said Wednesday, damaging the offices of the firm's chief executive and other top officials.
The threat of a widening war on the Arabian Peninsula is accelerating. Houthi rebels in Yemen are again targeting Saudi infrastructure and military sites, escalating a conflict which may yet draw in other regional powers. The Saudi-led coalition launched new airstrikes on oil facilities across Houthi-controlled Yemen in response to deadly airport attacks in Riyadh. Ali Rogin reports.
To discuss the escalating war between the Houthis in Yemen and Saudi Arabia, Amna Nawaz spoke with Michael Ratney. He served as U.S. ambassador to Saudi Arabia during the Biden administration and is now a senior adviser at the Center for Strategic and International Studies.