Houthi official warns ‘swift, painful response’ if U.S. enters Yemen war

Sanaa (AFP) — A Houthi official on Monday warned the US it would receive a “painful response” if it entered the war in Yemen, where Saudi Arabia has reportedly requested Washington’s help in dealing with the group as it weathers repeated attacks.

Yemen’s civil war — in which a Saudi-led military coalition supports the government against the Iran-backed Houthis — reignited in July, months into the wider regional conflict that has roiled energy markets and plunged the Middle East into crisis.

The Houthis quickly began targeting Saudi oil facilities, tankers and transport hubs, including a string of lethal strikes on Riyadh’s airport, rocking the world’s top oil exporter.

Blasts resounded over the capital again on Monday night, with the Saudi coalition saying it had intercepted a Houthi missile and the group saying it had again targeted the airport.

Later, the coalition announced that it had intercepted two ballistic missiles in the south of the kingdom, near the border with Yemen.

In a statement posted on X, the coalition said it had “intercepted and destroyed two ballistic missiles launched by the terrorist Houthi militia towards Khamis Mushait,” a city where a Saudi military base has previously come under attacks.

Following an attack at the Riyadh airport on Saturday that killed 13 people, US President Donald Trump said he was considering joining Saudi strikes against the group, after having reportedly rebuffed previous requests for help from the kingdom.

“The Houthis are misbehaving very badly. They’re misbehaving very badly. No good,” Trump said on Monday.

“If the US becomes involved in the aggression against Yemen, we will not deliberate over the decision to respond, rather, there will be a swift and painful response targeting the US and all its interests in the region,” Houthi political bureau member Mohammed Al Bukhaiti told AFP in an interview.

He also warned “all employees and workers at Saudi oil facilities and airports to stay away from these sites, as they have become legitimate targets.”

Saturday’s strike on King Khalid International Airport was the deadliest attack on Saudi soil in more than a decade, and also left hundreds wounded.

Trump said the attack was “not acceptable” and that he would be speaking to the kingdom’s de facto leader Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, telling reporters the US was “going to look at” the possibility of joining Saudi strikes.

Operations remained suspended at the sprawling airport on Riyadh’s outskirts on Monday.

Bukhaiti said the purpose of the campaign against Saudi targets was to send a message to the crown prince “that he can no longer wage aggression against Yemen from a safe position.”