Houthis vow retaliation after Saudi strikes on Yemen, widening regional conflict

Iran-backed Houthi forces announced they will retaliate after Saudi Arabia struck targets in the Yemeni port city of Hodeida and on Kamaran island on Friday. The Saudi-led coalition said the strikes hit Houthi sites that threatened commercial vessels in the Red Sea.

The Houthi media outlet Ansarollah posted on Telegram that the Saudi attacks on civilian facilities constituted a "dangerous escalation" and pledged that the "crimes will not go unanswered."

A Yemeni security source told AFP that a naval base in Hodeida and a military camp on Kamaran island were among the Saudi targets. The coalition spokesperson Turki al-Maliki said the Houthi military had "targeted commercial ships in the Red Sea" and that the coalition had carried out a "decisive and strong response" to neutralize those threats.

The incident follows a series of maritime confrontations, including Houthi claims of attacks on two Saudi ships earlier in the week, one of which Saudi authorities confirmed. The United States also reported disabling a merchant vessel, M/T Lavine, in the Gulf of Oman after it attempted to breach a U.S. blockade of Iranian ports.

In Iraq’s Kurdish city of Irbil, security officials said U.S.-led forces shot down five explosive-laden drones, while Iran’s Revolutionary Guard claimed attacks on U.S. facilities in Kuwait and Bahrain. Both Bahrain and Jordan reported intercepting aerial attacks attributed to Iran.

U.S. Central Command spokesperson Capt. Tim Hawkins said the crew of the M/T Lavine was warned before the ship’s engine room was fired upon. No comment was received from U.S. military officials regarding the Iranian claims.

The broader conflict shows no sign of de-escalation, with regional embassies warning of limited evacuation options for their citizens.