Saudi Arabian authorities have put their forces on high alert after clashes with Houthi rebels on the border with Yemen.
Bloomberg sources say that on October 19, four Saudi soldiers were killed in a battle with the Houthis in the southwestern province of Jazan. The clashes broke out after Iranian-backed rebels fired cruise missiles and drones at Israel.
One of the missiles was shot down by Saudi air defense systems and landed in the kingdom’s territory. The rest were intercepted by an American destroyer in the Red Sea.
Saudi Arabia and Yemen were close to an agreement
For the first time since the sides reached a temporary ceasefire in April last year, four Saudi soldiers were killed in clashes with the Houthis. Before the escalation, Saudi Arabia and the rebels represented by the ruling group in northern Yemen, Ansar Allah, were close to reaching an agreement to end the war that has been going on since 2015.
Iran has previously warned that it would open “new fronts” if the United States continued to support Israel in its war against Hamas. Yemen’s Houthi leader Abdul-Malik al-Houthi said the rebels would launch drones and missiles if the US intervened directly in the conflict.
The Pentagon reported that the destroyer USS Carney shot down three cruise missiles and several drones launched from Yemen into the northern Red Sea on October 19.
On October 30, Saudi Defense Minister Khalid bin Salman visited Washington, where he met with senior officials from US President Joe Biden’s administration and discussed the consequences of the war between Israel and Hamas and the situation in Yemen. He stressed the need for an immediate ceasefire in the Gaza Strip, protection of civilians, provision of humanitarian aid and resumption of peace negotiations.
Source: Do Rzeczy
Roy Brown is a renowned economist and author at The Nation View. He has a deep understanding of the global economy and its intricacies. He writes about a wide range of economic topics, including monetary policy, fiscal policy, international trade, and labor markets.
