![]() Fourth, it outlines policy implications, including for the United States and its partners. Third, it provides an overview of the irregular campaign by Iran and the Houthis against Saudi Arabia and other countries to assess attack trends and patterns. Second, it assesses the evolving military capabilities of Iran and the Houthis, with emphasis on extraterritorial capabilities. First, it summarizes Iranian and Houthi objectives and strategies to provide context on the regional conflict in the Gulf. The rest of this brief is divided into four main sections. 6 Third, the United States and its partners should conduct a more aggressive campaign to publicly highlight Iranian and Houthi actions and provide additional security assistance to Saudi Arabia and other Gulf states. The Quds Force and Lebanese Hezbollah have improved Houthi capabilities at a relatively low cost, especially compared to Saudi expenditures on air defense to protect its territory. 5 Second, Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps-Quds Force has provided the Houthis with training and a growing arsenal of sophisticated weapons and technology for anti-tank guided missiles, sea mines, explosive-laden UAVs, ballistic and cruise missiles, unmanned maritime vehicles (UMVs), and other weapons and systems. The number of Houthi attacks per month doubled against Saudi Arabia and other targets over the first nine months of 2021 compared to the same period in 2020. These actions are occurring in the context of escalating violence in Yemen between the Houthis and Saudi Arabia. First, the Houthis are orchestrating an increasingly intense irregular warfare campaign against Saudi Arabia and other countries in the Gulf using sophisticated cruise and ballistic missiles, UAVs, and other stand-off weapons. What are the primary military capabilities of Houthis and their security partners, especially Iran, to conduct attacks against Saudi Arabia and other targets, and how have these capabilities evolved? Has there been a change in the number or sophistication of Houthi attacks against Saudi Arabia and other targets? What are the main policy implications, including the use of specific countermeasures to defend against stand-off attacks? To answer these questions, CSIS analyzed 4,103 Houthi attacks against Saudi Arabia, within Yemen and against other targets, such as maritime targets, in the Gulf between January 1, 2016, and October 20, 2021.īased on the data, this analysis has several primary findings. To better understand the Houthi campaign, this CSIS Brief asks several questions. While these incidents are concerning, there has been little data analysis about trends over time. Saudi Arabia’s military has also intercepted thousands of Houthi ballistic and cruise missiles, UAVs, and other stand-off weapons. ![]() ![]() 3 In March 2021, Houthi militants launched multiple UAVs and missiles at the southern city of Jazan, striking a facility of Saudi Arabia’s state-owned oil company, Saudi Aramco (see Figures 1a, 1b, and 1c). 2 In September 2021, a Houthi missile struck Saudi Arabia’s Eastern Province, injuring two children and damaging several homes. Saudi Arabia responded by targeting Houthi weapons depots, air defense systems, and UAV infrastructure in Yemen. In November 2021, Houthi militants fired over a dozen unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) with explosives at several Saudi cities, including oil refineries in Jeddah. 1 On December 6, 2021, for example, Saudi air defenses intercepted a ballistic missile above Riyadh, causing shrapnel to fall in several residential districts. Iran and Ansar Allah (Partisans of God), better known as the Houthi movement, have conducted a campaign of high-profile attacks against civilian Saudi Arabian and coalition targets in the Gulf, beginning after the Saudi-led intervention in Yemen in 2015. In response, the United States needs to provide Saudi Arabia additional aid to defend the country against stand-off attacks. Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps-Quds Force and Lebanese Hezbollah have played a critical role in providing weapons, technology, training, and other assistance to the Yemen-based Houthis. The number of Houthi attacks against predominantly civilian targets in Saudi Arabia doubled over the first nine months of 2021 compared to the same period in 2020, according to new CSIS analysis.
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