Iran gives Houthis targeting intelligence for Saudi strikes, WSJ reports

Iran has increased its military support for the Houthi movement in Yemen, including intelligence and help directing missile and drone attacks on Saudi Arabia, according to a report in The Wall Street Journal that was picked up by several Israeli outlets on Saturday morning. The Times of Israel, summarising the Journal's account, said the newspaper relied on people familiar with Saudi and Yemeni intelligence, and that the assistance includes training and tactical advice alongside targeting help.

The Israeli news site Ynet carried the same claim in a brief alert, saying Iran is aiding the Houthis with intelligence and with guiding attacks inside Saudi Arabia. The Jerusalem Post also reported the Journal's findings, framing them around target intelligence for drone and missile strikes on the kingdom.

What the report describes

As relayed by The Times of Israel, the Journal's account links Iranian support to a run of fast territorial advances by the Houthis and to attacks that have grown more sophisticated. The strikes are described as aimed both at Saudi Arabia and at the Yemeni forces allied with Riyadh.

According to the same summary, the Houthis have hit Saudi oil tankers, energy facilities and airports. A strike on the international airport serving Riyadh, the Saudi capital, last weekend left at least 13 people dead, The Times of Israel reported. The Jerusalem Post illustrated its story with an image, credited to social media via Reuters, showing smoke and fire at King Khalid Airport in Riyadh on October 8, 2026, after the Houthis said they had attacked it.

Who the Houthis are

The Houthis are an armed movement in Yemen, referred to in Israeli and Western reporting as rebels and as an Iran-backed group. They operate their own administration from Sanaa, the Yemeni capital. A Times of Israel photo caption described armed supporters of the Houthi authorities rallying in Sanaa on October 9, 2026, in protest at Saudi intervention in Yemen. Saudi Arabia backs rival Yemeni forces, which the reports refer to as its Yemeni allies.

Israeli outlets follow the group closely because it is one of several armed organisations across the region that Israel and its allies regard as Iranian proxies. The Times of Israel described the Houthis in those terms, calling them one of Iran's terror proxies.

Why the Bab al-Mandeb matters

The report says the Houthis now control Yemen's coastline along the Bab al-Mandeb Strait. The strait is the narrow channel at the southern end of the Red Sea, linking it to the Gulf of Aden and the Indian Ocean beyond. The Times of Israel described it as an important route for Saudi oil exports, which is why control of the coast there gives the group leverage over shipping as well as over the war on land.

The wider picture

The Times of Israel's summary places the report in the context of a broader conflict, saying the deepening cooperation shows Iran's capacity to put pressure on Saudi Arabia and other Gulf states at a time when the United States is trying to bring its war with Iran to an end. The reports do not go into the state of those efforts.

For readers outside the region, the significance is that the claim, if accurate, describes direct operational involvement rather than only supplying weapons: help choosing and reaching targets inside a major Gulf state. That is the allegation as reported; neither Iran nor the Houthis are quoted responding to it in the material available.

What the reports do not say

All three Israeli outlets are relaying a single underlying source, The Wall Street Journal, which in turn cites unnamed people familiar with Saudi and Yemeni intelligence. None of the reports indicates independent confirmation of the intelligence claims.

The material does not say how the targeting assistance is delivered, whether Iranian personnel are present in Yemen, or when the stepped-up support began. It gives no response from Tehran, the Houthis, the Saudi government or Washington. It also does not detail which territory the Houthis have taken or the full toll of attacks beyond the Riyadh airport strike.

There is also a small gap between the accounts on the airport attack. The Times of Israel dates the deadly strike to last weekend, while the Jerusalem Post image is dated October 8, 2026. The reports do not state whether these refer to the same attack.