The Guardian: As Houthi threat grows, Saudi Arabia calls for more international action than “acupuncture”

A report published by the British newspaper The Guardian on Sunday evening, against the backdrop of the recent Houthi missile strike (Sunday) on Israel, warned that "the Houthi rebels in Yemen's acquisition of hypersonic missiles, capable of penetrating Israeli air defenses, threatens to escalate tensions in the Middle East."

In this context, the newspaper pointed out that Saudi Arabia called for more action, beyond "acupuncture attacks", to restrict arms supplies to the group.

The report noted that Saudi Arabia, which supports the Yemeni government opposed to the Houthis, believes that Iran has armed the group, including weapons used in attacks on commercial shipping in the Red Sea, which have halved traffic on the Red Sea route, raising shipping costs and harming the Egyptian economy by disrupting the Suez Canal.

The newspaper pointed out that the leadership of the rebel group in Sanaa celebrated the alleged (missile) attack on Israel on Sunday - which landed in an empty area, near Ben Gurion International Airport - as a major domestic achievement, and claimed that the technology was created through the hard work of Yemeni technicians. It promised more strikes. Before the attack, the Houthis issued warnings of sorts about an attack on Israel.

The newspaper said that Israel used its Arrow and Iron Dome defenses against the Houthi missile on Sunday, but it has not yet determined whether any of the multiple attempts to intercept it were successful.

The newspaper believes that the Houthis may have used the "Qader F " missile, developed from the 20-year-old Iranian "Qader-110" missile, or the Iranian medium-range ballistic missile "Ghader-110".

She added: Iran has been repeatedly accused, including by the United Nations, of initially supplying weapons to the Houthis for use in fighting the Saudi-backed Yemeni government based in Aden. Despite an intense Saudi bombing campaign in 2016, the Houthis have proven impossible to dislodge, even launching drone attacks on Saudi Arabia.

The newspaper quoted statements by former Saudi intelligence chief and diplomat Turki al-Faisal, made last Friday during a speech at Chatham House in London, when he expressed the kingdom’s disappointment with the way Iran was helping the Houthis, and called for more international action to prevent such assistance. He said that the “pinprick attacks” launched by US and British naval forces on Houthi positions in the Red Sea should be more effective.

“We have seen the deployment of European and American fleets along the Red Sea coast, and more can be done there to prevent arms supplies from reaching the Houthis from Iran,” he added. “Pressure on Iran by the international community could have a positive impact on what the Houthis can do in launching these missiles and drones to hit international trade.”

Faisal claimed that by continuing to interfere in Arab countries, such as Lebanon, Syria, Iraq and Yemen, as well as in Palestine, he confirms that Tehran has not fulfilled its side of the diplomatic deal struck between Iran and Saudi Arabia in China two years ago.

“The Houthis are now holding the world hostage at the entrance to the Bab al-Mandab Strait into the Red Sea, yet Iran is not showing that it can do anything there if it wants to,” the Saudi diplomat said. “The kingdom expected Iran to be more open in showing, not only to us, but to others, that it can be a positive factor in securing stability and removing differences, not only with Saudi Arabia but others around us.”

He said it was unclear whether the Iranians would be able to control the Houthis, and the world was in trouble if they could not.

According to the newspaper, Saudi Arabia did not join the US military attacks because it says it was seeking a diplomatic path to form a national government in Yemen.