Saudi Arabia’s biggest problem may be its enemy’s smallest weapons

The Houthis are turning cheap strikes into expensive problems for Riyadh, targeting the infrastructure that keeps its economy running The Houthis continue to strike Saudi Arabia despite Riyadh’s threats of a forceful response and promises to enlist outside partners to defend the kingdom.

By targeting airports and oil infrastructure, Ansar Allah is seeking to raise the cost of Saudi involvement in Yemen’s conflict and force the kingdom’s leadership to reconsider the terms of a settlement.

The latest wave of Houthi attacks has targeted facilities of particular importance to Saudi Arabia.

On the evening of October 13, a strike hit Saudi Aramco’s headquarters in Dhahran, home to the company’s key management operations.

The Saudi Energy Ministry reported a fire, though miraculously no one was killed.

Ansar Allah also claimed strikes on an oil refinery in Riyadh and King Khalid International Airport.

The choice of targets suggests the Houthis want to put virtually all of the kingdom’s oil revenue at risk and disrupt its international air connections.

These targets also suggest that the movement is trying to influence Saudi leaders’ decisions directly.

Oil infrastructure generates government revenue, airports connect the country to the outside world, and confidence in the kingdom depends on the security of both.

Even limited damage can therefore produce an impact far greater than the cost of the weapons used.

Read more Zelensky has made his choice, now America must make its own What is driving the conflict? The Houthis have their own history of confrontation with Saudi Arabia.

The movement emerged in northern Yemen, fought a series of wars against the central government between 2004 and 2010, and seized the capital, Sanaa, in 2014.

Its rise was rooted in Yemen’s political system, local conflicts, and the collapse of state institutions.

Iranian support strengthened an already established force with its own social base and political objectives.