West Asia war: Houthis call Saudi drone interception a 'cover-up' as Arab nations condemn oil facility attacks

Amid the ongoing tensions Yemens Houthis on Monday issued a sharp rebuttal against Saudi Arabia accusing it of attempting to cover up the failure after the nation said that it had intercepted multiple drones targeting its oil infrastructureIn a post on X the Chairman of the Board of Directors of Yemens state news agency Saba Nasruddin Amer cited a military source in the Ministry of Defense who characterised the Saudi statements as a coverup for air defence failuresAccording to the source the statements by the Saudi Ministries of Defence and Foreign Affairs were an attempt to cover up the failure of its defensive systems in detecting and intercepting Yemeni drones that successfully achieved their targetsThe source stressed that Yemen has endured The Saudi enemys violations throughout the deescalation phase and demanded Riyadh respect Yemeni sovereignty stating The Saudi enemy must end the siege on the Yemeni people by opening airports and ports facilitating trade movement releasing prisoners respecting Yemens sovereignty and its right to benefit from oil wealth in paying salaries and providing basic services Amer wrote in the post hellip pictwittercom5P8HxkIBD3mdash Nasr__Amer July 27 2026Adding to the reaction Amer also posted Houthi Political Bureau member Dhaifallah AlShamis remarks who asserted that the Saudi statements reflect its confusion following the strikes by the Yemeni Armed Forces on Jizan and YanbuAccording to the statements shared by Amer on X AlShami accused the Saudi regime of using accusations against Iran and others as an evasion of its responsibility for the blockade on Yemen while dismissing the claims as a failed attempt to pressure the Iraqi government regarding the resistances weapons issue in response to US directives similar to what is happening in LebanonThe Houthi assertions follow statements released earlier in the day by Saudi Arabias Ministry of DefenceIn a post on X the Official spokesperson Major General Turki AlMaliki stated that air defences had intercepted and destroyed several drones attempting to target petroleum facilities in the Eastern Region and RiyadhAlMaliki stated that these terrorist attempts were launched from Iraqi territory and carried out by Iranianbacked terrorist militias while affirming the Kingdoms legitimate right to defend itself and its capabilities and its retention of the right to respond at the appropriate time and placeHowever Iranian broadcaster IRIB reported that the Islamic Resistance in Iraq said We reject Saudi accusations that drone attacks on its facilities came from Iraq If Riyadh takes any action it will receive a response that will make it regret itAdditionally responding to the allegations Iraqs Prime Minister Ali alZaidi ordered security authorities to investigate Saudis claims that drones were launched from Iraqi soil according to armed forces spokesman Sabah alNumanIn a statement as reported by Al Jazeera the Iraqi government declared its commitment to preventing Iraqi territory from being used to attack neighbouring nations promising legal action against those responsible while describing its ties with Saudi Arabia as deeprooted and fraternalEarlier in the day Yemens Houthi rebels claimed that they carried out drone strikes on what it described as sensitive Saudi Arabia crude oil supply and transport infrastructure prompting a flurry of diplomatic engagements across the regionKuwaits Foreign Minister Sheikh Jarrah Jaber AlAhmad AlSabah conducted a phone call with Saudi Foreign Minister Prince Faisal bin Farhan bin Abdullah Al Saud expressing strong condemnation of the attacks and affirming Kuwaits absolute solidarity with Saudi ArabiaQatari Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman bin Jassim AlThani received a phone call from Saudi Foreign Minister Prince Faisal bin Farhan to discuss joint coordination and deescalationDuring the call Sheikh Mohammed stressed the need for all parties to commit to dialogue and implement the Memorandum of Understanding between the United States and Iran including guaranteeing freedom of navigation in the Strait of HormuzIn a subsequent call with Jordanian Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs Ayman Safadi both Qatari and Jordanian officials renewed their support for comprehensive diplomatic efforts aimed at defusing regional tensions and maintaining regional securityMeanwhile the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Syrian Arab Republic also issued an official statement condemning the attempted targeting of Saudi petroleum facilitiesThis story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed agencies Midday accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability trustworthiness reliability and data of the text Midday managementmiddaycom reserves the sole right to alter delete or remove without notice the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever