Tensions in the Gulf escalated sharply over the weekend after Yemen’s Houthi rebels claimed to have fired missiles and drones at sites near Riyadh’s main airport, in what appears to be one of the deepest strikes the group has attempted inside Saudi territory since fighting in Yemen intensified again. Saudi authorities said air defences intercepted an incoming ballistic missile, and witnesses reported smoke and flames near King Khalid International Airport along with significant flight disruptions.
The strike came as the wider conflict involving Iran-aligned forces continued to widen. Houthi fighters are also reported to have targeted the Red Sea oil terminal at Yanbu and have been pressing gains along Yemen’s coastline near the strategic Bab al-Mandab Strait, a corridor through which a large share of global shipping passes.
Amid the escalation, Iran is said to have signalled, through Qatari mediators, a set of conditions under which it would be willing to hold talks with Washington. Iranian security official Mohsen Rezaei is reported to have told intermediaries that Tehran wants an end to hostilities “on all fronts,” the release of frozen Iranian assets, and the lifting of a US naval blockade around Iranian ports, among a broader list of conditions said to number seven in total.
Rezaei is also reported to have warned that continued US and Israeli pressure could push Iran to reconsider its position within the nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty, though he stressed no final decision had been made and that Iran remained bound, for now, by a religious ruling against nuclear weapons. The warning follows a recent referral of Iran’s nuclear file to the UN Security Council.
The developments have unsettled energy markets and raised fresh concern in Gulf capitals, with US officials said to be weighing further options should the Houthi campaign continue. For East Africa, a region reliant on Gulf oil supply routes and remittance flows from workers across the Gulf states, a sustained escalation could carry knock-on effects for fuel prices and shipping costs in the months ahead.
Diplomats say the coming days will be critical in determining whether Iran’s overture translates into actual talks or whether the conflict draws in more regional players.