The Saudi-Houthi Conflict: Background, Timeline, and What It Means for Pakistan’s Defense Commitments

In Blog, Human Security, National Security
November 11, 2026
Eeshah Fatima
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The Saudi-Houthi dispute is rooted in the civil war in Yemen that began in 2014. It started when the Houthi movement (Ansar Allah), a group allied with Iran, took control of the Yemeni capital of Sanaa and forced the internationally acknowledged government to flee. In March 2015, Saudi Arabia formed a coalition of mainly Sunni

The Saudi-Houthi dispute is rooted in the civil war in Yemen that began in 2014. It started when the Houthi movement (Ansar Allah), a group allied with Iran, took control of the Yemeni capital of Sanaa and forced the internationally acknowledged government to flee. In March 2015, Saudi Arabia formed a coalition of mainly Sunni nations to take military action to reinstall the displaced government and contain Iranian expansionism on its border. The dispute between Yemeni groups escalated into a proxy rivalry between Saudi Arabia and Iran, with Houthis becoming the strongest Iranian proxy.

The conflict’s origins stretch back before 2014. Northern Yemen was ruled for hundreds of years by Zaidi imams until 1962, when a republican revolution overthrew the imamate and drew the Saudis into a proxy war on the side of the royalists. During the nineties, Hussein al-Houthi established a revivalist movement in Saada called the Believing Youth, in opposition to Ali Abdullah Saleh’s government and the Salafis who supported him. Violence began in June 2004, when the Saleh regime sought to arrest Hussein al-Houthi on rebellion charges. He was killed that September, and his brother Abdul-Malik al-Houthi took over leadership.

Five more rounds of war followed, forcing hundreds of thousands of people in Saada to flee. In the sixth round, which began in August 2009, Saudi Arabia was drawn in after Houthi troops crossed the border and captured a hilltop in November. Saudi Arabia responded with air strikes and a ground assault, and the fighting ended with a ceasefire in February 2010. That truce, however, left the grievances in Saada unresolved. After the 2011 uprising weakened Saleh’s government, the Houthis expanded beyond their northern stronghold and, in 2014, took control of Sanaa, setting the stage for open war.

Over the following years, the Houthis attacked Saudi Arabia with missiles and drones, targeting airports, oil facilities, and cities such as Riyadh and Abha, while coalition air strikes on Yemen continued and worsened the humanitarian situation. A UN-mediated ceasefire in April 2022 ended major hostilities and largely held. For several years afterwards, only sporadic skirmishes occurred along the line of contact, including in Taiz. Meanwhile, the Houthis began attacking Red Sea maritime routes and firing missiles at Israel, citing support for Gaza. This uneasy calm, however, rested on grievances that neither side had resolved.

The fragile calm broke down in 2026. During a war between Iran, Israel, and the United States that began in February, the Houthis entered the fray in March by launching missiles at Israel. Tensions with Saudi Arabia then reignited: in July, an Iranian flight allegedly carrying IRGC personnel to Sanaa was struck at the airport. On 20 July, the Houthis announced a maritime ban targeting Saudi Arabia after reciprocal attacks on the Sanaa and Abha airports, despite the 2022 truce. Attacks on Saudi tankers brought Saudi air strikes on Hodeidah, prompting Houthi strikes on Saudi refineries.

By September 2026, the dispute had become one of the most significant instances of direct Houthi-Saudi conflict. The Houthis launched a large-scale drone and missile strike on 8 September against military and energy facilities in Saudi Arabia, claiming to have downed a Saudi F-15, and hit a pumping station in the middle of the month. Around 12 September, they also took the southern Red Sea port city of Mokha. Saudi Arabia, reportedly short of missile interceptors, sought air defense help from allies, while American officials remained divided on whether to engage the Houthis directly.

In early October, the leader of Yemen’s Saudi-backed government announced a major operation to seize Houthi-held territory, with Saudi Arabia leading in the air. On 6 October, the coalition said it had struck weapons depots and naval mine storage in Hodeidah, destroyed a missile launch platform in Sanaa, and hit a missile storage site in Saada. Fighting has centred on Taiz, where Houthi forces advanced on the last road linking the city to Aden and, according to a Yemeni research center, cut its main supply route. The Houthis claim over 1,500 Saudi strikes, which remain unverified.

The most serious escalation has been against civilian aviation. On 7 October, Aden’s airport terminal and runway were targeted by two ballistic missiles and several explosive-laden drones. Attacks on Abha and Riyadh airports on 6 and 7 October killed three and injured 36. Then, on 10 October, a missile struck King Khalid International Airport in Riyadh, killing 12 and injuring 309, according to Saudi aviation authorities; later reports put the toll at 13 dead and over 300 wounded. Saudi Arabia vowed to retaliate firmly. The Houthis declared Saudi airspace a target, excluding Mecca and Medina.

The 2022 ceasefire framework is effectively dead, and neither side is signaling restraint. Houthi pressure around Taiz and the Red Sea coast, together with the government’s counteroffensive, points toward a prolonged return to open civil war rather than negotiated calm. The attacks on airports and the Houthi warning to airlines add a new danger for civilians and regional aviation. Much depends on whether Washington joins the Saudi campaign directly, something U.S. military leadership has been split on, and on whether Iran restrains its Yemeni ally or keeps using it as leverage in the wider regional confrontation.