Saudi Arabia's Dhahran Air Base Attacked by Yemeni Houtis

Yemen's Houti rebels attacked Dhahran Air Base used by the Royal Saudi Air Force soon after a pair of U.S. B-52H bombers flew over the Mideast as a “warning” to Tehran.

It is not clear what type of missiles were used in the alleged attacks. Both Iran and the U.S. are yet to comment on the matter.

Spokesman of the Yemeni armed forces, Brigadier General Yahya Saree, said their military carried out the “large-scale” operation in Saudi Arabia with 14 drones. It involved Samad-3 drones and Zulfiqar missiles.

The U.S. military’s Central Command said the two B-52s were accompanied by aircraft operated by Israel, Saudi Arabia and Qatar. Sunday’s deployment marked the fourth-such bomber mission into the Middle East this year and the second under new President Joe Biden.

While the military did not directly mention Iran in its statement, saying the flight was to “deter aggression and reassure partners and allies of the U.S. military’s commitment to security in the region.”

Earlier that day, Pentagon chief Lloyd Austin said the U.S. will “do what’s necessary” to defend itself, four days after ten rockets hit Iraq’s Ain al-Sada airbase hosting coalition troops, further escalating U.S.-Iran tensions on Iraqi soil.

“We’ll strike, if that’s what we think we need to do, at a time and place of our own choosing. We demand the right to protect our troops,” Austin said.

Meanwhile Sunday, Beirut-based pro-Iran channel Al-Mayadeen aired footage of the Helios Ray, a Bahamian-flagged roll-on, roll-off vehicle cargo ship hit by the blasts Feb. 26 in the Gulf of Oman.