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Between July 7 and 8, 2024, senior officials from Yemen's Iran-backed Ansar Allah movement (the Houthis) and its official media continued to threaten Saudi Arabia and warn it against surrendering to what the Houthis claim is pressure being exerted on it by the U.S. and Israel to drag the country into a war against Yemen. These threats focus on the harsh implications that joining such a war would have on the Saudi economy and on the scope of investments in the kingdom. The Houthis hinted broadly that one of the objectives that would be targeted in such a scenario is the Saudi mega-project NEOM, slated to be a futuristic city that will be a model for sustainable living in the Tabuk Province of Saudi Arabia on the northern tip of the Red Sea.
These warnings follow a marked increase in the level of Houthi threats to Saudi Arabia, which at their pinnacle included blatant Houthi vows to attack strategic targets in the kingdom, including seaports, airports, and banks. The Houthis claim that the preceding would be attacked because the Saudis are operating against similar targets in Yemen.[1]
The following is a review of statements on this matter issued by the Houthis between July 7 and 8, 2024:
On July 7 and 8, 2024, Abdullah Bin 'Amer, deputy director of the Moral Guidance Department of the Houthi armed forces, posted a series of messages on his X account in which he warned Saudi Arabia against carrying out "the instructions of the U.S. and Israel" to take action against Yemen. He asserted that Yemen would respond to such action and take "decisive and deterrent measures, in the framework of its legitimate right to respond," and also said that, "This will have great influence on its economy, its security, and its stability."
He further stated that, "The first anticipated result in the event of a flare-up of the situation is that no location will be safe for investments. One whose economy is based on an end to the war "will be hardest-hit by a flare-up of war… it's easy to instigate a war or cause it to heat up, but hard to endure its continuation and its extension and expansion in all directions… when it breaks out, you won't be able to extinguish it or to control it. Beware."[2]
On July 8, 2024, on his X account, Houthi Deputy Information Minister Nasr Al-Din 'Amer shared a news report describing Saudi steps to promote commercial contracts for its projected Oxagon floating port and integrated logistics hub, adjacent to the Suez Canal on the northwestern part of the projected city of Neom. 'Amer wrote, "We suggest that you wait a little while with those contracts."[3]
On the same day, Houthi accounts announced a "Twitter storm" using the Arabic hashtag #AmericaEntanglesSaudiArabia. The campaign was advertised on a poster portraying figures representing the U.S. and Saudi Arabia plunging together into an abyss, below Arabic text that reads, "Between the American deception and the Saudi stupidity, the leader of Yemen repeats his advice and warns again, "Don't get further entangled… Our patience is running out… You will lose and be sorry… Let America fight on its own." The quote is from the most recent speech delivered by Houthi leader Abd Al-Malik Badr Al-Din Al-Houthi on July 1, 2024.[4]
[1] See MEMRI JTTM Report: Houthi Ansar Allah Movement Threatens Saudi Seaports And Airports If The Country Doesn't Backtrack On Its 'Aggression' Against Sanaa Airport, Banks In Houthi-Controlled Areas, July 8, 2024.
[2] X, July 7-8, 2024.
[3] X, July 8, 2024.
[4] Telegram, July 8, 2024.
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