Houthis renew strikes on Saudi Arabia as UN Security Council extends Yemen sanctions for a year

On Thursday, the Saudi-led coalition said its air defenses had intercepted a flurry of suspected Houthi drones over two parts of the kingdom: the Riyadh region and the Eastern Province. Major General Turki al-Maliki, the coalition spokesperson, announced the interceptions in a statement carried by the Saudi Press Agency.

The Houthis gave their own account. Military spokesperson Yahya Saree said the group had gone after oil infrastructure and military assets inside Saudi Arabia. He named a pumping station on the East-West Pipeline, which he said was hit with a drone, and the Yanbu oil facility on the Red Sea. Those targets carry weight because Riyadh says it has rerouted about 4 million barrels of crude a day through the East-West Pipeline to Yanbu, roughly 4 percent of global supply.

Saree made further claims. He said a military cargo plane at Sharurah airport, near the Yemeni border, was struck by a drone, and that a ballistic missile fired at Khamis Mushait airbase "scored a direct hit." He also said the group targeted the Saudi Aramco headquarters in Riyadh. At the same time, he rejected as a "grave falsehood" the Saudi assertion that the Houthis had targeted the kingdom's Mecca region on Wednesday. These are the group's claims, and the reporting does not independently confirm them.

On the ground in Yemen, coalition forces fighting for the internationally recognised government say they are confronting the Houthis on every front, hitting leaders, vehicles, reinforcements, weapons and positions. Yemen's Defence Ministry, citing the Saudi-backed Presidential Leadership Council, said the campaign was moving toward its "desired objectives," according to the pro-government Saba news agency. The ministry also held a meeting in Marib governorate on the ongoing operations, including how to improve coordination among the military units taking part in the Dawn of Yemen offensive.

The same day, the UN Security Council voted unanimously to extend Yemen-related sanctions for another year. The measures include asset freezes and travel bans. The council also extended the mandate of the UN Panel of Experts on Yemen, whose recommendations underpin the sanctions, and demanded an end to Houthi attacks on Saudi Arabia. Members urged all parties to refrain from escalation and settle disputes through negotiation, and they backed the territorial integrity of both Saudi Arabia and Yemen.

The resolution condemned the Houthis' military escalation, their maritime and cross-border attacks on Saudi Arabia, and their threats to commercial shipping. It also stated that sanctions measures do not apply to humanitarian assistance or supplies for civilians' basic needs. China's ambassador to the UN, Fu Cong, called the sanctions "merely a means, not an end in themselves" and said he hoped the situation in Yemen would de-escalate as soon as possible.

The human toll is large. The UN humanitarian office, OCHA, said on Thursday that more than 333,000 people have been displaced in Yemen since the start of August, including over 24,000 in the past week alone. It said civilians continue to pay a heavy price as violence damages health facilities, drives families from their homes and hampers humanitarian work.

A diplomatic track is also under way. Reuters, citing sources familiar with the effort, reports that Saudi Arabia is pressing the European Union to adopt a European Parliament resolution designating the Houthi movement, Ansar Allah, a terrorist organisation. European officials told Reuters the bloc worries such a step could undermine any future peace process. EU foreign policy spokesperson Anouar El-Anouni said the EU is in regular contact with Riyadh on regional developments but declined to discuss specific talks. Whether Brussels moves on the designation will show how much weight Europe gives to pressure versus a negotiated exit.