The Ministry of External Affairs condemned the recent attacks by Iran-backed Houthis on Saudi Arabia, saying that such attacks “undermined regional security and stability.” The ministry denounced the targeting of civilian and economic infrastructure as “unacceptable.”
Responding to media inquiries concerning the reported assaults within Saudi territorypokesperson Randhir Jaiswal said, “India condemned the attacks on Saudi sovereign territory, especially the targeting of civilian and economic facilities.”
Jaiswal said such aggressive actions, that “undermined regional security and stability and threatened freedom of navigation in the were unacceptable.”
New Delhi’s remark came after the issued a statement regarding Houthi assaults targeting civilian and economic sites across Abha, Jazan, Khamis Mushait, and Najran, an escalation that resulted in 73 injuries among civilians, including women and children.
According to Reuters, Yemen’s Iran-aligned Houthis struck an airbase in Khamis Mushait and oil infrastructure in the nearby cities on Tuesday in one of the biggest attacks in Saudi Arabia since the start of the US-Israeli war on Iran in February.
On Wednesday, Yemen’s reported more than 30 Saudi strikes on several regions. “Saudi enemy aircraft launched 32 airstrikes on various areas across the governorates of Marib, Al-Jawf, Taiz and Hodeida over the past few hours,” the rebels’ Almasirah television said.
Fighting between Saudi Arabia and the Houthis has escalated in recent months, raising fears of a return to broader conflict after a UN-brokered truce in 2022 largely halted years of war.
The Houthis said, as per Reuters, that their strikes are in response to the Saudi escalation in Yemen.
Saudi authorities previously said that Houthi attacks caused temporary shutdowns at oil sites and injured 73 people early Tuesday. The rebels reported Saudi airstrikes following the attacks.
In a statement shared on X, Riyadh denounced ongoing attacks targeting commercial shipping vessels operating throughout the Red Sea alongside persistent threats directed at international maritime transit lanes.
“The Kingdom reiterated its categorical rejection of the hostile approach and criminal conduct persistently pursued by this militia in threatening the security and stability of the brotherly Republic of Yemen and its Arab and Islamic surroundings, as well as its continued rejection of all peace efforts,” the ministry noted.
Underscoring its sovereign stance, the Saudi foreign ministry asserted its lawful prerogative to deploy all necessary measures to protect national territory, safeguard strategic assets, and ensure the safety of citizens and residents in accordance with international legal principles, emphasising a zero-tolerance policy towards territorial aggression.
“The Kingdom warned against the consequences of the terrorist Houthi militia’s continued targeting of innocent civilians and civilian facilities, and stressed the need for an immediate halt to all forms of escalation carried out by the militia, as well as its continued threats to the security of maritime navigation,” the Saudi statement added.
It called for decisive international intervention by enforcing United Nations Security Council resolutions, specifically Resolutions 2216 and 2722.
Pakistan said there should be “no ambiguity” that an attack on any one of the three members of the newly formed Makkah Defence Alliance would be treated as an attack on all, as it warned that the pact could become operative following Houthi strikes on Saudi Arabia.
Defence Minister Khawaja Asif’s remarks on Tuesday came hours after Houthi forces launched a wave of missile and drone attacks on Saudi Arabia.
The minister said any unprovoked aggression against a member state, or a spillover of the Yemen conflict into Saudi Arabia, would activate the collective-defence provisions of the agreement signed by Pakistan, Saudi Arabia and Turkiye in Makkah last month.
“There should be no ambiguity; there is no need for any clarity that this is a joint defence agreement,” Asif said in an interview with Geo TV channel. Pakistan would honour its commitments to Saudi Arabia under the pact, he said.
“There should be no doubt about this. We are bound by the terms and conditions of this pact and, God willing, we will honour them in case there is a need,” Asif asserted.
He stressed that the agreement was defensive in nature and did not authorise the three countries to launch attacks against another state on their own initiative.
“This is not an aggressive agreement under which the three countries would, on their own initiative, attack another country. But if there is any aggression against one member state, all three member states will respond,” the minister said.
Saudi Arabia leads an Arab coalition that backs a government based in Yemen’s south, which was driven from the capital Sanaa by the Houthis 12 years ago.
The conflict has become a theatre in the wider regional war, with the Houthis close allies of Iran and Saudi Arabia an ally of the United States.
The Houthis declared a naval blockade againstin July, prompting the Saudi-led coalition to strike what it said were Houthi military facilities in Yemen.
In recent days, Saudi-backed Yemeni government forces have launched a multi-pronged offensive on Houthi-held areas after the group attempted to advance on government positions. The government says it aims to recapture all Houthi-held territory.
(With inputs from agencies)
