Saudi military strikes Houthi targets in Yemen after the Iran-backed militia attacked Red Sea shipping

Fighters supporting the Aden-based internationally-recognised Yemeni government gather during a vigil along the Red Sea shore in Khokha, in Yemen's western Hodeidah province on July 20, 2026, calling for a resumption of hostilities with the Huthi group currently controlling the capital Sanaa. (Photo by Khaled ZIAD / AFP via Getty Images)Khaled Ziad | Afp | Getty ImagesSaudi Arabia said on Saturday that its coalition forces struck Houthi militia in Yemen after the Iran-backed group claimed to have attacked two Saudi oil tankers in the Red Sea earlier in the week.Air defenses in Saudi Arabia reportedly intercepted two ballistic missiles from Yemen.The latest salvos appeared to indicate an escalation in fighting in a second front in the Iran war.The Saudi strikes "focused solely on legitimate military targets that the terrorist Houthi militia uses to threaten commercial vessels in the Red Sea," Major General Turki Al-Malki, spokesperson for the Saudi-led Coalition to Restore Legitimacy in Yemen, said in a statement.On Thursday, U.S. President Donald Trump said he would hold Iran responsible for further attacks by the Houthis, after the militant group said it had struck the Saudi tanke...