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Saudi Arabia is bracing for imminent, coordinated attacks from both Iraqi militias to the north and Yemen's Houthi movement to the south, a senior Saudi official said, as Houthi strikes killed dozens of Saudi-backed Yemeni government troops and wounded 11 civilians, including a 4-year-old child, in a fresh attack on Saudi territory.
A Saudi official told CNN that multiple intelligence reports from Saudi Arabia and regional countries indicate Iraqi militias, "in coordination with the Houthis," are planning to attack the kingdom "in the very near future" under the guidance of Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC).
A separate senior Saudi official, speaking to Reuters on condition of anonymity, said Saudi, U.S. and other Middle Eastern intelligence had found that the Houthis and Iraqi militias under IRGC supervision could soon launch coordinated attacks on Saudi civilian sites, including energy infrastructure, ports and airports.
Both officials expressed alarm that the reported threats come even as Saudi Arabia continues to support de-escalation and a negotiated settlement with Iran, with the Reuters-cited official saying mediation efforts appeared to be moving "in the right direction" and suggesting the planned attacks could be intended to disrupt that diplomacy.
"Saudi Arabia will take all necessary measures to deal with any aggression," the official told CNN.
The Reuters-cited official said Saudi-U.S. cooperation remained "very high" at all levels, including operationally with U.S. Central Command (CENTCOM).
Maj. Gen. Turki al-Malki, spokesman for the Saudi-led coalition supporting Yemen's internationally recognized government, said Houthi attacks Thursday on Saudi Arabia's southern Najran province wounded 11 civilians.
Seven Saudis, including a woman and a 4-year-old child who suffered second-degree burns, along with two Egyptians, one Yemeni and one Pakistani national, according to the Saudi Press Agency (SPA).
Malki accused the Houthis of indiscriminately shelling civilian areas in violation of international humanitarian law and said the coalition would continue taking "deterrent measures" to protect civilians.
There was no immediate comment from the Houthis or Iran.
Separately, Houthi missile and drone attacks on Saudi-backed Yemeni government troop positions Thursday killed a large number of soldiers in what a military official described as the worst such attack in Yemen since 2022.
According to Agence France-Presse (AFP), one military source put the death toll at 58, with dozens more wounded, while medical sources had earlier reported 38 dead.
A separate military source told AFP that one missile strike alone, hitting troops during morning formation at a camp in Marib province's al-Ruwaik area, killed and wounded "at least 45 personnel."
Attacks were also reported in the Al-Abr and al-Wadiah areas of Hadramawt province, near the Saudi border, and in Al-Thaniyah, according to Houthi military spokesman Yahya Saree, who said the group had targeted what it described as a Saudi-backed military buildup and warned the rebels were "prepared to confront any escalation."
Yemen's Defense Ministry said its armed forces would respond to the attacks "at the appropriate place and time."
The warnings of imminent attacks come as Saudi Arabia, Türkiye and Pakistan are set to sign a joint defense agreement in Jeddah on Friday.
Yemen, embroiled in more than a decade of civil war, became increasingly drawn into the wider Middle East conflict last month after the Houthis welcomed an Iranian plane directly into Sanaa, triggering a cycle of tit-for-tat attacks.
The group later announced a maritime blockade of Saudi ports and began striking Saudi-linked tankers.
Houthis control Sanaa and much of Yemen's populous north, while the government holds much of the south, with fighting largely frozen under a 2022 U.N.-brokered truce that had held despite its formal expiration until this recent escalation.
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