Iran-aligned Houthis strike Yemeni presidential palace in escalating campaign against Saudi Arabia

By Mohammed Tawfeeq, CNN

(CNN) — Several Houthi missiles and drones struck the presidential Al-Maashiq Palace in Aden, killing two members of Prime Minister Shaya Al-Zindani’s security detail, Yemen’s internationally recognized government said Thursday.

The Iran-aligned rebels claimed they were targeting an alleged Saudi military operations center inside the compound.

In a statement posted by the government’s Ministry of Information, officials said the prime minister was safe following the strike.

“Prime Minister Dr. Shaya Al-Zindani and members of the government are safe following a missile attack by the Iranian-backed Houthi militia on Al-Maashiq Palace in the interim capital, Aden,” the statement said.

Aden serves as the de facto capital and seat of Yemen’s internationally recognized government, which was forced out of the capital, Sanaa, after the Houthis seized the city in 2014. A Saudi-led military coalition has backed the government in its long fight against the rebel group.

The Houthis claimed Thursday’s strike was part of a declared strategy of targeting Saudi military deployments wherever they are located.

“The shelling of the Saudi enemy’s war operations headquarters in Aden comes within the framework of the declared equation of targeting Saudi military build-ups wherever they may be, and considering any military presence of the Saudi enemy a legitimate target for our forces,” the statement said.

The Yemeni government did not immediately provide additional details about the type of missiles used or the extent of the damage at the palace complex.

In a statement issued later Thursday, Yemen’s Cabinet said the attack involved both missiles and drones, adding that it would not affect the government’s operations or its campaign against the Houthis.

“Yemen’s future will not be held hostage by a militia that bears arms against its own people, targets the security of its neighbors, and relies on violence to compensate for the Yemeni people’s rejection of its coup-driven agenda,” it said.

The attack came less than an hour after Houthi forces renewed warnings that Saudi airspace and airports were unsafe and that they retained the capability to “respond in kind” to ongoing Saudi attacks on Yemen.

The Saudi-led coalition said Thursday that recent Houthi attacks, including strikes targeting King Khalid International Airport in Riyadh, demonstrate the growing threat posed by the Iran-aligned group to Saudi Arabia, regional security and international shipping routes.

The coalition also said military operations would continue with the aim of degrading Houthi military capabilities and removing sources of support for the group’s war effort in accordance with international humanitarian law.

Houthi attacks on Saudi Arabia have been escalating in recent days. On Thursday, the Saudi-led coalition said it had intercepted and destroyed multiple aerial threats across the kingdom, including a drone over Khamis Mushait in southwestern Saudi Arabia, a cruise missile over the Medina region in the west, and another drone in the Eastern Province.

The ongoing attacks have raised concerns about energy supplies, commercial shipping and fuel prices, with the Houthis increasingly targeting Saudi airports, oil infrastructure and maritime traffic.

Earlier this week, US President Donald Trump accused the Houthis of trying to drive up oil prices and suggested Iran was encouraging the group’s latest attacks.

“The Houthis are behaving very badly,” Trump wrote on Truth Social. “They’ve been silent for a long time, but now they’ve emerged again, probably at the behest of Iran … hitting Saudi Arabia, and purposefully trying to drive up Oil Prices, probably prior to the US elections.”

This is a developing story and will be updated.

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