Houthi missiles hit Yemen's presidential palace in Aden as Riyadh blames Iran

Houthi missiles slammed into the al-Maashiq presidential palace in Aden on Thursday, the seat of Yemen’s internationally recognised government, killing at least five people and wounding 16, according to Yemen’s health minister, Qasim Mohammed Buhaibeh.

Information Minister Moammar al-Eryani said the complex was hit by five missiles. Two of the dead were bodyguards attached to the security detail of Prime Minister Shaya al-Zandani. The government said the prime minister and cabinet ministers were unharmed, and residents described loud explosions and thick smoke rising over the palace.

It was the first strike on the palace complex since Yemen’s civil war reignited in July, after a UN-brokered truce collapsed. Earlier this month, on 7 October, the Houthis fired ballistic missiles and drones at Aden airport, forcing flights to divert.

What each side said

Houthi military spokesperson Yahya Saree claimed “the bombing of the Saudi enemy’s war operations headquarters in Aden” and said the group had hit weapons depots inside the complex, as part of targeting “Saudi reinforcements wherever they were located.”

Rashad al-Alimi, who chairs Yemen’s Presidential Leadership Council, called the attack an “extension” of the Houthi strikes on airports and oil facilities in Saudi Arabia, and directed forces to “take the necessary measures to protect state institutions.” Youth minister Nayef Saleh al-Bakri said ministers would not leave the city.

The Houthis also fired ballistic missiles at the oil-rich city of Marib, the government said, though no casualties were reported. Around Taiz, where the group has imposed a siege, government forces said they had pushed Houthi fighters off Mount Han, west of the city, after clashes that ran from Wednesday evening into Thursday morning.

Riyadh points at Tehran

On the same day, Saudi Arabia accused Iran of fuelling the escalation. “Iran continues to arm, train and support the Houthi militia in violation of UN security council resolutions,” Rayed Krimly, deputy minister for public diplomacy at the Saudi foreign ministry, told reporters at a virtual briefing.

“We think that the escalation by the Houthis at this latest stage of the conflict is encouraged by Iran,” he said. Riyadh still had direct communications with Tehran, he added, but “it doesn’t seem yet that the Iranians are able to provide the necessary concessions for a solution.” The Houthis, he said, had refused a Saudi offer to meet in Muscat at the start of the escalation.

Coalition spokesperson Turki al-Maliki said the Houthis had attacked King Khalid International Airport in Riyadh 20 times in October, killing 17 people and wounding 333. He said the group had obtained ballistic missiles, drones and explosive-laden boats with help from “regional actors”, without naming any country, and that coalition strikes had destroyed 127 weapons stores and launch sites in Yemen.

At the Security Council

In New York, Pakistan’s acting envoy to the UN, Usman Jadoon, condemned the Houthi strikes on Saudi civilian and economic infrastructure. “These attacks must cease immediately,” he told the Security Council. “We reiterate our unwavering support for the security, sovereignty and territorial integrity of the brotherly Kingdom.” France’s ambassador, Jérôme Bonnafont, called Tehran’s support for the Houthis destabilising. The council was weighing a presidential statement on the escalation.

The Houthis, for their part, renewed their warning to airlines that Saudi airspace and airports are unsafe, excluding the skies over Makkah and Madina.