After the bloody Riyadh airport attack.. What options are available to Saudi Arabia to respond to the Houthis?

At a time when Saudi Arabia is facing the repercussions of the bloodiest attack on its territory in more than a decade, questions are increasing about the nature of the response that Riyadh will adopt, especially as the Yemeni Houthi group - an ally of Iran - continues to launch devastating attacks targeting the Kingdom. The Kingdom launched a large-scale attack last week to support Yemeni government forces fighting the Houthis, but the rebels have so far succeeded in holding out and maintaining their positions.

Instead of retreating, the Houthis escalated their campaign against the Kingdom, leading to the missile attack that targeted King Khalid International Airport in Riyadh on Saturday, killing at least 12 people. Following the approach taken by Iran in its conflict with the United States, the Houthis threaten a painful escalation that targets vital infrastructure in Saudi Arabia, and imposes an economic cost globally.

The Houthis hold old grudges against Saudi Arabia due to Riyadh's decade-long war against the group, which has caused the world's worst humanitarian crisis. However, the Houthis' recent escalation is increasingly seen as an extension of the ongoing conflict between Iran and Washington.

After 11 years of attempts to contain the Houthi advance militarily and through negotiations, Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman and his brother, Defense Minister Prince Khalid bin Salman, themselves face limited options. On the other side of the border, the rebels have grown stronger, consolidated their control over major cities, and are seeking to control others, such as the densely populated Taiz.

Ali Al-Shihabi, a writer and political analyst for Saudi affairs, told Ofoq News Network: “This threat must be dealt with and resolved once and for all. Much will depend on the performance of the Yemeni government forces on the ground, while Saudi Arabia provides extensive support to them through its air force.”

So far, the Saudi role has been largely limited to providing air cover to the Yemeni anti-Houthi coalition, without resorting to deploying large-scale Saudi ground forces. The question remains: Will this conservative approach continue after the attack that targeted Riyadh on Saturday?

Sending large numbers of Saudi forces to Yemen would plunge the Kingdom into a costly and arduous ground war across rugged terrain, and would also undermine the image that Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman is carefully working to establish for the Kingdom as a stable country, attractive to investment, and a global tourism hub. Advanced missile capabilities Just two decades ago, the Houthis were nothing more than a small religious movement calling for the revival of religious practices.

But with Iranian support, they have since transformed into a formidable fighting force possessing ballistic missiles capable of hitting targets as far away as Tel Aviv. A southern Yemeni official, who fought the Houthis for years, told Ofoq News Network: "They have developed their fighting methods. Their attacks have become more sophisticated. They are persistent and have strengthened their intelligence capabilities."

The Yemeni government claims that the Houthi rebels cooperated with experts from the Iranian Revolutionary Guard to modify the missiles and turn them into more effective weapons. Majid Al-Nazili, spokesman for the Yemeni Armed Forces, said that the new missiles have a higher flight speed and use a thermal tracking system to identify any source of heat and target it accurately.

However, it is still unclear whether these missiles were used in the attack that occurred on Saturday at Riyadh Airport. The Houthis' efforts to obtain more advanced weapons may now extend to the field of artificial intelligence.

Anthropic, an artificial intelligence company, reported that a group based in northern Yemen used its artificial intelligence tools (known as “Claude”) to help develop missile guidance software; These are the systems responsible for guiding weapons and stabilizing them during flight. The report did not identify those involved, but their presence in northern Yemen, which is under the control of the Houthis, indicates a possible link between them and the rebels.

Seeking international support The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia sought support from its partners around the world to confront this group. France, Britain and Pakistan have pledged support, while other allies - such as Turkey - are considering sending aid.

It was also reported that Prince Mohammed bin Salman requested assistance from Syria. Its president, Ahmed al-Sharaa, led armed factions that succeeded in expelling Iranian-backed groups from Syria after a civil war that lasted nearly a decade. However, Riyadh's biggest ally - the United States - did not support air strikes on the Houthis, instead sending more than 100 military advisors to provide intelligence under a newly formed joint command.

Last year, Washington reached a ceasefire agreement with the Iran-backed group, reopening the Bab al-Mandeb Strait — a vital sea lane through which global trade between Asia and Europe flows — to American ships. Prince Mohammed bin Salman held two conversations with Trump last month, during which he urged him to strike the Houthis - according to what sources told Ofoq News at the time - but the president refused to intervene.

Ali Al-Shehabi said: “It is clear that direct American intervention through air power will be beneficial, because American aircraft are able to respond to intelligence information derived from American satellites more quickly.” "It is one step away from that (operational) episode, so American intervention will be beneficial."

Saudi Arabia, one of the largest countries in the Middle East by area, remains vulnerable to attacks despite possessing some of the most advanced American air defense systems. Its infrastructure, which is used to transport its rich resources across vast expanses of desert, makes it a relatively easy target for the less expensive suicide drones developed by the Houthis.

The Saudi Civil Aviation Authority announced on Sunday that an American citizen was among those killed in the Houthi attack on Riyadh airport, which may prompt Trump to become more involved in the war. “The Saudis are good fighters, but I think the attack was a terrible thing,” Trump told reporters after the attack.

When the US President was asked whether the United States would participate in strikes against the Houthis, he replied: “We may do that.”