Houthi Forces Strike Saudi Sharurah Base With Drones and Missiles

Sharurah Base Attack and Cross-Border Projectiles

Saudi authorities reported that a Houthi projectile fell in an area near the border, specifically landing in the Al-Tuwal governorate in the southwestern Jazan region on Saturday night. Saudi Arabia’s Civil Defense confirmed that the impact injured two people and caused material damage to a mosque, several buildings, and vehicles. The incident came hours after Saudi authorities issued alerts warning residents about the possibility of attacks. Yemen’s map of territorial control has changed in recent days amid escalating confrontations between government forces and the Houthis since July, following years of relative calm.

Saudi Arabia Says East-West Pipeline Hit by Drones Launched from Iraq

“Air Force of the Armed Forces targeted positions and barracks of the terrorist Houthi group with three airstrikes” in the Taiz region, the Yemeni military said Sunday in a post on X.

Yemeni Military Statement

Red Sea Coastline Offensives and Civilian Displacement

The latest military flare-up follows a week-long offensive that has significantly altered the balance of power along Yemen’s Red Sea coastline. On Saturday, local time, internationally recognized government forces said they had struck Houthi fighters in the Red Sea city of Mocha, and later attacked other Houthi positions in the south-western part of the country. The waterway has become an important artery for Saudi Arabian oil exports after Iran largely cut off shipments through the Gulf with its blockade on the Strait of Hormuz at the start of the Middle East war.

Saudi Arabia Shuts East-West Oil Pipeline After Drone Attack From Iraq

The human toll of the renewed combat has displaced growing numbers of civilians to flee amid a week-long Houthi offensive that culminated in the group capturing the remainder of Yemen’s Red Sea coast and several strategic islands, and cementing their hold on the Bab el-Mandeb Strait at the sea’s southern entrance. Fighting has raged on multiple fronts including Yemen’s west coast, with Yemen’s rival forces saying they have made territorial gains in the provinces of Hodeida, Taiz, and other areas.

Diplomatic Pressures and Regional Mediation

For much of the past year, Pakistan has played a dual role as Riyadh’s defence partner and Washington’s backchannel to Tehran, but this week’s fighting between Yemen’s Iran-backed Houthi movement and Saudi forces is increasingly testing how long Islamabad can hold both positions at once. The fighting represents the first major test of the mutual defence alliance that was signed between Pakistan, Saudi Arabia, and Turkey last month, adding to a pre-existing pact between Islamabad and Riyadh, under which an armed attack on any one of the three countries is to be regarded as an attack on all. Pakistani officials worry the Houthi threat is more likely to draw Islamabad into a war than Iranian missile strikes on Saudi energy infrastructure were earlier this year, while Pakistani sources reported that Islamabad delivered a Saudi warning to Iran to rein in the Houthis. Meanwhile, a Pakistani spokesman said no military response is under discussion, and Pakistan and Kuwait signed a narrower defence protocol than originally discussed.

Iraq Probes Saudi Drone Strikes and Shuts Iran Border Crossings

Concurrently, US news site Axios reported that Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman had twice called US President Donald Trump to request American strikes on the Houthis last week, but the request was rejected. Donald Trump said the Houthis had also called the US and said they don't want to fight with us. Three sources also told Reuters the crown prince phoned Mr Trump on Thursday, local time, and asked for US military help.