Houthis claim two ballistic missiles fired at Saudi forces in Jazan

Yemen's Houthi movement has claimed that it launched two ballistic missiles at Saudi forces in Al-Tuwal, in the southern Saudi province of Jazan, The Times of Israel reported on Friday. The Houthis described the target as concentrations of Saudi troops. The claim came several hours after Saudi Arabia's civil defense authority had declared an all-clear for the province.

The Jerusalem Post also reported the Houthi statement, noting that it followed the Saudi all-clear. According to The Times of Israel, there was no immediate confirmation from Saudi Arabia of the Houthi account, and it was not clear whether the attack the group described was connected to the civil defense alerts issued in Jazan earlier the same day.

A second set of claims

In a separate statement, the Houthis also said they had struck King Khalid International Airport in Riyadh, the Saudi capital, along with a pumping facility on the kingdom's East-West Pipeline, The Times of Israel reported. These claims, like the one about Jazan, are attributed to the Houthis alone. Neither report carried any Saudi statement about damage, casualties or interceptions at either site.

Who the Houthis are

The Houthis are an armed movement in Yemen that both reports describe as aligned with Iran. The Jerusalem Post illustrated its report with a photograph of supporters of the movement rallying in Sana'a, the Yemeni capital, on Oct. 9. Israeli media, including The Times of Israel, refer to the group as a terror organisation.

Southern Saudi Arabia shares a border with Yemen, and The Times of Israel noted that the region has repeatedly been hit by Houthi missiles and drones aimed at military sites and energy facilities.

Why Jazan matters

Jazan is a Saudi province in the south of the kingdom, on the frontier with Yemen. It hosts a refinery operated by Saudi Aramco, the state oil company, which can process 400,000 barrels of crude oil per day, according to The Times of Israel. That refinery has itself been among the targets of earlier Houthi strikes on the south of the country.

Al-Tuwal, the specific location named in the Houthi claim, lies within Jazan province. The reports did not give further detail on what Saudi forces are stationed there.

The pipeline and the oil picture

The claimed strike on the East-West Pipeline carries weight beyond the immediate military exchange. The Times of Israel reported that conflict in the Middle East has disrupted the movement of oil through the Strait of Hormuz, the narrow waterway at the mouth of the Persian Gulf.

In response, Riyadh has shifted roughly 4 million barrels per day of crude onto the East-West Pipeline, which carries oil across the kingdom to Yanbu, a port on the Red Sea coast, according to the same report. The Times of Israel put that volume at about 4% of a wider figure; its report was cut off before stating what that percentage refers to, so this article does not attempt to complete it.

An attack on a pumping facility along that route would therefore touch a channel that Saudi Arabia is currently relying on to move crude away from Hormuz. Whether any damage occurred has not been reported.

Timing and the Saudi alerts

Both reports place the Houthi claim after the Saudi civil defense all-clear in Jazan. Earlier on Friday, the civil defense authority had issued alerts for the province. The Times of Israel said it could not immediately establish whether the alerts and the attack described by the Houthis referred to the same event. The two outlets do not disagree on the sequence; neither offers a link between them.

What the reports do not say

Saudi Arabia has not been reported confirming or denying any of the Houthi claims, covering Jazan, the Riyadh airport and the pipeline facility. Neither report says whether the missiles were intercepted, whether anyone was hurt, or whether there was any damage at Al-Tuwal, the airport or the pipeline. It also remains unclear what prompted the earlier civil defense alerts in Jazan, and whether they relate to the attack the Houthis describe.