Pre-war tensions in the middle-east are surging almost as fast as the price of crude... and that is just fine with the Saudi Royal Family, which is willing to risk world war if it means pushing the price of oil back to triple digits.
One day after Saudi Arabia warned on Monday that Lebanon had declared war against it because of attacks against the Kingdom by the Lebanese Shi‘ite group Hezbollah - and shortly after the Saudis intercepted what they claimed was an Iranian-made ballistic missile near Riyadh launched by Yemen rebels, on Tuesday Yemen's Iran-backed Houthi rebels threatened retaliation against the ports and airports of the United Arab Emirates and Saudi Arabia, which this week closed the Yemeni land, sea and air borders.
Still image taken from a video distributed by Yemen’s pro-Houthi Al Masirah TV station, showing the ballistic missile allegedly launched at Saudi Arabia.
"All airports, ports, border crossings and areas of any importance to Saudi Arabia and the UAE will be a direct target of our weapons, which is a legitimate right," read a statement released by the rebels' political office, carried by AFP.
The Houthi's statement comes the day after the Saudi coalition announced it had closed all of Yemen's borders, in retaliation for the shot down ballistic missile that had targeted the kingdom's international airport in Riyadh.
Houthi rebels in Yemen
As we reported last night, commenting on Saturday's Houthi attack, the Saudi-led coalition that has been conducting an operation in Yemen since 2015, stated that it "considered the missile launch an act of war against the kingdom" and reserved the right to respond against Iran, who it holds accountable for the attack, in a claim strongly denied by Tehran.
More recently Saudi Arabia’s Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman also accused Tehran over alleged arms supplies to the Houthis, with Tehran lashing out at Riyadh's claim it has described as being "contrary to reality." The statement echoed a remark made by US President Donald Trump, who had blamed Iran for the missile launch by Yemeni rebels.
Yemen has been engulfed in a violent war between the government and Houthi rebels backed by army units loyal to former President Ali Abdullah Saleh since 2015, with a coalition backed by Saudi Arabia launching an aerial operation in the country at the request of President Abd Rabbuh Mansur Hadi.
The United Nations on Monday reported the Saudi-led coalition had prevented two humanitarian aid flights from flying to the war-torn country.