Yemen’s Iran-backed Houthi rebel group says it has carried out its first “military operation” targeting Israel, firing a barrage of ballistic missiles, in what it says is a display of solidarity for ongoing Israeli aggression against Iran, Lebanon, Iraq and Palestine.
In a video statement released on X early on Saturday, Yahya Saree, the Houthi military spokesperson, detailed that the attacks targeted “sensitive Israeli military positions” and come supplementary to what he called “heroic Iranian resistance”.
“The Yemeni armed forces, with support from god, have carried out their first military operation, firing a barrage of ballistic missiles, targeting sensitive military positions for the Israeli enemy,” said Saree.
“The operations are in support of efforts from the Islamic Republic of Iran, and resistance axis in Lebanon, Iraq and Palestine,” he added. “The operation has achieved its objectives successfully.”
“Our operations will continue until all our declared objectives are realised, as detailed in previous announcement, and until Israeli aggression halts on all the resisting fronts,” added Saree.
Earlier Israel’s military said it intercepted a missile launched from Yemen towards the country early on Saturday for the first time since the start of the war one month ago, raising concerns over the Houthis’ possible entry to the war, who at the time did not yet claim responsibility.
Sirens went off around Beer Sheba and the area near Israel’s main nuclear research centre for the third time overnight into Saturday as Iran and Hezbollah continued to fire at Israel.
The escalation now also calls into question whether the Yemen-based Iran-backed group would target commercial shipping travelling through the Red Sea, as it had during Israel’s war on Gaza. Saturday’s attacks are a U-turn for the group, who had earlier indicated that they would not join the war at Tehran’s request.
In 2024, the Trump administration launched strikes against the Houthis that ended weeks later. The US-led campaign against the Houthi rebels, overshadowed by the Israel-Hamas war in Gaza, turned into the most intense running sea battle the Navy had faced since World War II.
It aimed to stop the Houthis’ attacks on vessels in the Red Sea, which had completely halted global shipping in a passage through which about $1 trillion (€866.1 billion) worth of goods passed each year.
Israel strikes Iranian nuclear sites
Israel struck Iran’s nuclear facilities hours after threatening to “escalate and expand” its campaign against Tehran on Friday. Iran vowed to retaliate and struck a base in Saudi Arabia, wounding US service members and damaging planes.
Iran’s Atomic Energy Organisation said the Shahid Khondab Heavy Water Complex in Arak and the Ardakan yellowcake production plant in Yazd Province were targeted. The strikes did not cause any casualties and there was no risk of contamination, it said. The Arak plant has not been operational since Israel attacked it in June.
Iran’s Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said his country would “exact a heavy price for Israeli crimes” in a post on X in reaction to the renewed attacks. He also slammed US President Donald Trump for not abiding by his extended diplomatic deadline, after Israel claimed its strikes were coordinated with Washington.
“Israel has hit 2 of Iran’s largest steel factories, a power plant and civilian nuclear sites among other infrastructure. Israel claims it acted in coordination with the US,” wrote Araghchi. “Attack contradicts POTUS extended deadline for diplomacy.”
Attacks intensify
Eyewitnesses in eastern Tehran reported a partial power outage following airstrikes. In Israel, loud explosions filled the air in Tel Aviv and emergency crews responded to nearly a dozen impact sites.
Israel’s Defence Minister Israel Katz had earlier vowed that Iran “will pay heavy, increasing prices for this war crime.”
Israel focused its attacks Friday on sites “in the heart of Tehran” where ballistic missiles and other weapons are produced, the IDF said. It said it also hit missile launchers and storage sites in Western Iran.
Meanwhile, Iranian retaliatory attacks are continuing to target neighbouring Gulf Arab states, where Saudi Arabia said it shot down missiles and drones targeting the capital, Riyadh.
Kuwait said its Shuwaikh Port in Kuwait City and the Mubarak Al Kabeer Port to the north, which is under construction as part of China’s “Belt and Road” initiative, sustained “material damage” in attacks.
It appeared to be one of the first times a Chinese-affiliated project in the Gulf Arab states has come under assault in the war.
Oil prices continue to soar
Iran is continuing to restrict oil exports via the crucial Strait of Hormuz, worsening an already dire global oil price crisis, which has seen the price of fuel surge dramatically across many capitals in the world for regular consumers.
Brent crude, the international standard, traded around $107 a barrel on Saturday, in what is a roughly 60 per cent spike compared to pre-war prices.
On Friday, in an apparent breakthrough, Iran announced that it would fulfil a UN request to allow the passage of humanitarian aid and agricultural shipments through the chokepoint waterway.
Ali Bahreini, Iran’s UN Ambassador in Geneva said Tehran agreed to “facilitate and expedite” such movement, but made no indication of an easing of restrictions on the export of oil.
The strait has remained effectively closed for the entirety of the US-Israeli war, and with it, blocking the flow of oil to the world, causing supply crises. Around one-fifth of the world’s oil normally passes through the Hormuz Strait.