BySETH J. FRANTZMAN
Updated:

Saudi Arabia on Monday condemned a new round of UAV attacks carried out against it by Iranian-backed militias based in Iraq.

In addition, tensions between Saudi Arabia and the Houthis in Yemen have escalated in recent weeks.

It now appears that Iran has encouraged its proxy militias in Iraq to also target Saudi Arabia. This would present Riyadh with a multifront conflict, similar to what Iran has conducted in other areas of the region.

Saudi Arabia’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs issued its “strongest condemnation of the reprehensible drone attacks carried out by Iran-backed militias operating in Iraq.”

It “reaffirms its unwavering determination to safeguard its security and sovereignty, deter aggressors and exercise its right to respond to the sources of the attacks,” it said, adding that it also “stresses the need for the Iraqi government to take all necessary measures to prevent its territories from being used as grounds from which acts of aggression are launched.”

Men gesture as they express their affiliation and support for the Houthi movement while standing over a depiction of the US flag during a demonstration by university students amid escalating tensions with Saudi Arabia, at the Sanaa University campus in Yemen's Houthi-held capital Sanaa on July 22. (credit: Getty Images/MOHAMMED HUWAIS/AFP)
Men gesture as they express their affiliation and support for the Houthi movement while standing over a depiction of the US flag during a demonstration by university students amid escalating tensions with Saudi Arabia, at the Sanaa University campus in Yemen's Houthi-held capital Sanaa on July 22. (credit: Getty Images/MOHAMMED HUWAIS/AFP)

Iran-backed militias, Houthis threaten Saudi Arabia as regional strategy

Iranian-backed militias have threatened Saudi Arabia for years as part of Tehran’s broader strategy. The most persistent threat to Saudi Arabia has come from the Houthis in Yemen.

After Saudi Arabia intervened in Yemen in 2015, the Houthis launched hundreds of missiles and drones toward Saudi territory, targeting airports, cities, and critical energy infrastructure.

Iran supplied the Houthis with increasingly sophisticated missile and drone technology, greatly expanding their ability to strike deep inside the kingdom.

In September 2019, Iran attacked Saudi Arabia’s Aramco facilities at Abqaiq and Khurais. The Houthis claimed responsibility for those attacks, although the US and Saudi Arabia blamed Iran.

Iranian-backed militias based in Iraq have also emerged as a potential threat to Riyadh in recent years. Tehran has supplied some of them with missiles and drone technology.

In January 2021, a drone attack that targeted Riyadh was believed to have been carried out by one of the militias.