Iran is facing mounting economic and military pressure from the US, but its regional allies may have found a way to raise the cost for Washington, by targeting Saudi Arabia, one of its key partners in the Gulf.
According to a Reuters report citing Saudi, Iranian and regional sources, the Houthi attacks on Saudi infrastructure, oil facilities and high-profile investment events are part of a wider strategy to pressure Riyadh into meeting the group's demands in Yemen while pushing US President Donald Trump to ease the blockade on Iran.
The campaign puts Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman in a difficult position, threatening the economic transformation agenda under Vision 2030 and testing investor confidence in the kingdom's stability.
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Michael Knights of strategic advisory firm Horizon Engage told Reuters that Iran and the Houthis were targeting Saudi Arabia's economic vulnerabilities to force Washington to reconsider its approach.
Unable to directly compel the US to change course, Tehran and its allies are putting pressure on a regional partner with much more to lose from prolonged instability, he said.
The Houthis, meanwhile, have their own demands. These include an end to Saudi military operations and restrictions on Yemeni ports and airports, regular flights to Iran, the restoration of salary payments and compensation for war damage, Reuters reported, citing sources familiar with Saudi thinking.
A senior Iranian official told Reuters that the attacks were part of a broader effort to reshape the regional balance of power. The official warned that strikes would continue unless Saudi restrictions were lifted, while arguing that Riyadh should pursue negotiations rather than rely on US protection.
The Houthis have denied acting at Iran's direction. Spokesperson Mohammed Abdulsalam told Reuters that their demands were humanitarian and unrelated to Tehran.
The latest escalation has already disrupted major business events in Saudi Arabia. Houthi attacks reportedly hit Riyadh's King Khalid International Airport and Saudi Aramco facilities, while the kingdom's flagship oil conference saw senior executives withdraw.
Organisers of the Future Investment Initiative, an annual global investment forum, also offered remote participation amid the security concerns.
The disruption revives memories of 2019, when attacks on Aramco facilities temporarily knocked out about 5% of global oil supply. Saudi Arabia had intervened in Yemen in 2015 after the Houthis seized the capital, Sanaa. A ceasefire in 2022 had offered some hope of de-escalation.
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But the conflict now risks undoing progress towards a Saudi-backed peace roadmap agreed in 2023, which envisaged reconstruction funding and public-sector salary payments in Yemen.
Abdulaziz Sager, chairman of the Gulf Research Center, told Reuters that Saudi leaders had reached a point where they saw little scope for negotiations.
Former US negotiator Aaron David Miller warned that the balance of vulnerability favoured the Houthis. Saudi infrastructure, he said, was far more valuable than Houthi infrastructure, leaving Riyadh with more to lose in a prolonged conflict.
Yemen analyst Farea al-Muslimi cautioned that the crisis could expand beyond Saudi Arabia, potentially drawing in the wider Gulf.
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