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Houthi forces fired missiles at the presidential palace in Aden on Thursday, killing at least four people, as Saudi Arabia accused Iran of encouraging a sharp escalation in Yemen’s long-running war.
Government military sources said 10 others were wounded in the strikes on Al-Maashiq palace, which also serves as the headquarters of the Yemeni government in the country’s south. An AFP journalist saw smoke rising over the area, and residents reported hearing explosions.
It was the first attack on the complex since the civil war flared back to life in July.
Information Minister Moammar al-Eryani said the prime minister and cabinet ministers were safe, without saying whether they were at the palace at the time. He said the attack was carried out with five missiles.
Media affiliated with the Houthis said the group had targeted a headquarters for military operations “led by Saudi officers” at the palace, along with weapons depots.
The Iran-backed Houthis have been pressing Saudi Arabia and the internationally recognised government it supports in recent weeks, shifting the focus of the wider Middle East war that began with US-Israeli strikes on Iran in February.
The group has seized large stretches of territory along Yemen’s Red Sea coastline. A government counteroffensive backed by Saudi air power has so far failed to reverse those gains.
Yemeni government forces said the Houthis also fired “several ballistic missiles” at Marib, a central city in a strategic, oil-rich region.
The Saudi-led coalition said drones launched by the Houthis at the kingdom’s southern region and the city of Khamis Mushait were intercepted.
Rayed Krimly, Saudi Arabia’s deputy minister for public diplomacy at the foreign ministry, said Riyadh believed Iran was behind the intensifying attacks. “We think that the escalation by the Houthis at this latest stage of the conflict is encouraged by Iran,” he said.
Saudi Arabia says Iran continues to arm and train the Houthis. Krimly said Riyadh remained in contact with Tehran but that Iran did not appear ready to make concessions.
He also said the Houthis had rejected a Saudi request to meet in Muscat, Oman, at the start of the escalation. That, he said, was the last communication between the sides, which took place a few weeks ago.
The violence could put at risk a 2023 agreement, mediated by China, in which Saudi Arabia and Iran moved to ease a long freeze in relations.
Saudi Arabia suffered its deadliest attack in more than a decade on Saturday, when a strike on Riyadh’s international airport killed 13 people and wounded about 300.
The coalition said the Houthis had targeted the airport 20 times this month.
Coalition spokesman Turki Al-Malki called on the group to “immediately cease all terrorist operations targeting civilians and civilian facilities.”
He said the Houthis had obtained advanced technologies with help from regional actors and now possessed ballistic missiles, attack and suicide drones, and fast boats loaded with explosives.
Saudi Arabia’s energy minister acknowledged earlier this week that the attacks had tested the country’s infrastructure and resilience.
Riyadh normally hosts a packed calendar of events at this time of year, including its flagship investment conference, which draws foreign leaders and business executives.
The civil war has its roots in the Houthis’ seizure of the capital, Sanaa, in 2014.
Saudi Arabia has led a military coalition backing the government since 2015. The conflict reignited after the collapse of a years-long truce, and the Houthis launched a rapid offensive in September.
The United Nations describes the conflict as one of the world’s worst humanitarian crises, with most of Yemen’s population dependent on aid.
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