Houthis Enter the War
The Houthis have finally entered the war, greatly raising the stakes on what's becoming a multi-front engagement, given Israel and Hezbollah have already been locked in a ground war in Lebanon. Overnight saw the Houthis send a barrage of missiles on Israel, which is the first such strike since the US began its Operation Epic Fury.
Military spokesman for the Houthis, Brigadier-General Yahya Saree, announced the attack on Saturday on the group's Al Masirah satellite television, Al Jazeera has confirmed. Strikes "will continue until the declared objectives are achieved... and until the aggression against all fronts of the resistance ceases," Saree said, confirming the Iran-aligned Yemeni group's entry into the war on Tehran's side.
The Israeli side confirmed the assault out of Yemen, saying that it intercepted one missile. This spells more bad news for global shipping through the other important regional energy and goods transit waterway, the Bab al-Mandab Strait in the Red Sea. It will also make it even harder for Washington to try and wind down the conflict amid efforts to find an acceptable offramp. Interestingly, the Houthis are justifying their actions not just based on the US-Israel attack on Iran, but on assaults on populations in the broader region:
The group said the attack with a barrage of missiles came after continued targeting of infrastructure in Iran, Lebanon, Iraq and the Palestinian territories, adding that their operations would continue until the "aggression" on all fronts ends.
Now Israelis will face aerial threats from Iranians, Hezbollah, Houthis, and Iraqi Shia paramilitaries...
At Least 15 Americans Wounded in Major Strikes on Saudi Base
The most significant overnight development saw major Iranian cross-Gulf attacks emerge. This is a serious escalation despite the White House having approached Tehran with a 15-point peace plan, delivered via Pakistan. The Iranians have clearly rejected it for now, and have instead launched a serious assault on Prince Sultan air base in Saudi Arabia Friday.
The Wall Street Journal details that "Twelve American troops–up from 10 previously reported–were wounded in an Iranian attack on the Prince Sultan air base in Saudi Arabia Friday, according to multiple U.S. and Arab officials."
The AP in follow up issued higher figures: "Iran fired six ballistic missiles and 29 drones at Saudi Arabia's Prince Sultan air base in a Friday attack that wounded at least 15 troops, including five seriously, according to the sources who were not authorized to comment publicly and spoke on the condition of anonymity. U.S. officials initially reported that at least 10 U.S. troops were injured, including two seriously wounded."
"The injured troops were inside a building on the base that was struck in the attack, the officials said," the report continues. "The attack also damaged multiple U.S. refueling aircraft. At least one missile struck the base, as well as several unmanned aerial vehicles, according to two of the officials." This marks the second significant strike on the same base. The aircraft hit was a KC-135 air refueling aircraft, which reportedly caught fire.
The mass casualty incident has raised ongoing questions of troop exposure and Pentagon preparedness for Iran's response:
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