The Saudi Arabia has issued a serious warning on a growing two-front military threat that is emerging: Iran-backed Iraqi militias and Yemen’s Houthi rebels are already mounting joint attacks against the kingdom. These operations are being carried out by Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps. This is a very worrying development as the conflict in West Asia keeps growing and as the wider conflict in the context of the wider war in West Asia is taking off and the international community grows increasingly concerned that Iran’s vast regional network of allied armed groups that Tehran has built up to this day is opening yet another major front in spite of the diplomatic efforts to contain regional tension, even if it is also to say it is still open to diplomacy that are under the direct control of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps.
A senior Saudi official told media outlets that Riyadh has received numerous intelligence reports from domestic and regional agencies that Iraqi militias are working with the Houthis to launch hostile operations in the very near future. The alleged military campaign is led by the IRGC and simultaneous attacks are expected from two directions. Theoretically, Iraqi militia groups would launch attacks against Saudi Arabia from the northern border, and Houthi forces based in Yemen would simultaneously attack Saudi Arabia from the southern border in what security analysts call a high-stakes pincer movement towards the Kingdom. Riyadh’s official insisted that Riyadh is committed to regional de-escalation but is ready to respond quickly and decisively to protect its territories as well as to respond to any aggression.
The intelligence experts say the planned attacks are likely to hit Saudi Arabia’s most important civilian and economic infrastructure. They are expected to attack oil and energy facilities, commercial ports and international airports as well as other critical facilities that are vital to the national economy and regional energy exports. Security officials said that drones and missiles that were believed to be used in this operation have already been moved to launch positions, but independent verification of their existence is still lacking. Security experts think that this cross-border cooperation shows a worrying trend of growing operational cooperation among members of Iran’s larger regional network. Major Iraqi Shia militias are already providing logistics, staging grounds and operational support to Houthi activities in the northern border, and Houthi experts are also said to be providing the Iraqi groups with advanced drone technology and technical support.
This intelligence warning follows a series of deteriorating security incidents between Saudi Arabia and neighbors. There have been fears about maritime security since the Gulf of Aden attacks and repeated missile and drone attacks by pro-Iranian militia groups in recent weeks. The deeper conflict is raising the threat that proxy battles are going to have a bigger effect on air defense systems in Saudi Arabia and will result in a regional war. Iran and the targeted Iraqi militia have not commented publicly about these allegations, but the warning underlines the interlocking nature of the geopolitical crisis in the Middle East.
