Riyadh has lived with the Houthi danger lurking at its southern border without good options to remove it.

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Now, the Kingdom is in a war it tried to avoid, but still without a clear path to victory.

On October 10, the Iran-backed Yemeni terror group launched a deadly drone and missile attack on Riyadh’s King Khalid International Airport, killing at least 13 people and injuring more than 300. Operations at the airport are suspended until at least October 17, but the Houthis have continued launching daily attacks and warned international airlines to stay away from Saudi airspace and airports. They exempted the holy cities of Mecca and Medina from their warning despite targeting both in recent weeks.

This is exactly the kind of danger Riyadh has hoped to avoid. Saudi Arabia led an expensive seven-year air campaign in support of the Yemeni government after the Houthis seized the capital, Sanaa, in 2014, sparking a civil war. Once the UN-brokered truce in 2022 brought peace, Riyadh sought political engagement because decisive victory remained elusive.

The Houthis began their recent escalation in mid-July after Riyadh, at the request of Yemen’s internationally recognised government (IRG), struck Sanaa International Airport to prevent an Iranian plane from landing. Ostensibly, the plane was returning the Houthi delegation that attended slain Iranian........

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