Are Houthis using new modified cruise missiles in Yemen’s war?

Yemen’s internationally recognised, Saudi-backed government has alleged that the Tehran-backed Houthis have modified Iranian air defence weapons into loitering cruise missiles with the assistance of Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC).The Yemeni government has warned that the capability of such missiles – which operate on a heat-tracking system, it alleged – in practice threatens civilian air traffic over Yemen and the crucial Red Sea.Meanwhile, the Houthis have ramped up attacks on Saudi Arabia as they fight Yemeni government forces. On Thursday, Riyadh said it intercepted six ballistic missiles aimed at Taif in western Saudi Arabia and the Yanbu port area on the Red Sea.The Houthis also said they attacked “a sensitive target” in the Saudi capital, Riyadh, and Saudi Aramco facilities in Yanbu. Houthi military spokesman Yahya Saree said the group used ballistic and cruise missiles as well as drones in the two operations.The Houthis were in open conflict with Yemen’s government and a Saudi-led coalition of Arab states from 2014 until a United Nations-brokered ceasefire was declared in 2022, but fighting has reignited in recent weeks with the Houthis taking the Red Sea co...