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Yemen’s internationally recognised government, which is backed by Saudi Arabia, has levelled a serious allegation against the Tehran-supported Houthi movement, claiming that the group has converted Iranian air defence weapons into loitering cruise missiles with direct assistance from Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC). The accusation, if verified, would represent a significant evolution in the Houthis’ military capabilities and could have far-reaching consequences for both civilian aviation and maritime traffic in one of the world’s most strategic waterways.
According to Brigadier General Majed al-Nazili, a spokesperson for the Yemeni government forces, the modified weapons pose a danger to all aircraft operating in the region. He explained that the missiles have been adapted with the help of IRGC experts and are now being deployed to strike aircraft and other cruise missiles. The general described a weapon system that manoeuvres for periods of up to 25 minutes per missile and relies on thermal-tracking technology to identify and attack any heat source in its vicinity, without the capacity to differentiate between military and civilian targets. Such a capability, he warned, constitutes a direct and grave threat to the safety of civil aviation and the lives of passengers travelling through the region.
The Yemeni government’s concerns extend beyond its own airspace. Al-Nazili noted that aircraft belonging to the United Nations and humanitarian organisations flying through air routes over Yemen and the broader region could potentially find themselves in danger. He argued that threatening the airspace over the southern Red Sea and transforming it into a hazard zone for civilian aircraft and passengers represents an escalation that transcends the narrow question of Yemeni airspace safety alone. The general called on international authorities to take urgent and decisive action in response to what he characterised as a growing and transnational threat.
Al-Nazili further linked the alleged missile modifications to recent statements by Iranian officials, including Mohsen Rezaei, the secretary of Iran’s Supreme National Security Council, who had threatened to target aviation services in the region after the United States sanctioned Iranian airlines. Rezaei initially warned that regional airports could lose flights if they aligned themselves with US restrictions on Iranian aviation. His office subsequently clarified that Tehran was not planning military retaliation over the sanctions, though it indicated that nonmilitary countermeasures against specific airports remained a possibility. The Yemeni government spokesperson contended that the use of Iranian weapons from Yemeni territory poses a direct threat to international air navigation routes and cannot be considered a purely domestic Yemeni issue.
The Houthis, for their part, have continued to escalate their military operations. On Thursday, Riyadh announced that it had intercepted six ballistic missiles aimed at Taif in western Saudi Arabia and the Yanbu port area on the Red Sea. The Houthis also claimed to have attacked what they described as a sensitive target in the Saudi capital, Riyadh, as well as Saudi Aramco facilities in Yanbu. Houthi military spokesman Yahya Saree stated that the group employed ballistic and cruise missiles alongside drones in the two operations, underscoring the movement’s expanding arsenal and its willingness to strike deep inside Saudi territory.
The renewed hostilities mark a significant deterioration from the period between 2014 and 2022, when the Houthis were in open conflict with Yemen’s government and a Saudi-led coalition of Arab states. That phase of the war was paused by a United Nations-brokered ceasefire in 2022, but fighting has reignited in recent weeks. The Houthis have seized the Red Sea coast of Yemen, including the strategically important city of Mocha and Mayyun Island in the Bab al-Mandeb strait, which sits at the southern entrance to the Red Sea. In July, the armed group declared a naval blockade against Saudi Arabia in the Red Sea, effectively opening another theatre in the broader US-Israel war on Iran.
The timing of these developments is particularly consequential because the Red Sea has become a vital alternative export route for Saudi Arabia, the region’s biggest oil player, since the closure of the critical Strait of Hormuz during the war. Saudi Arabia’s East-West Pipeline, which carries oil from its eastern oilfields to the western port of Yanbu, is only just restarting operations after suffering damage from a drone attack earlier this month. The intersection of Houthi missile capabilities with this fragile oil infrastructure has raised alarms about the potential for further disruptions to global energy supplies and shipping lanes.
The question of whether the Houthis have actually modified Iranian weapons systems remains a subject of debate among experts. Eleonora Ardemagni, a senior associate research fellow at the Italian Institute for International Political Studies, told Al Jazeera that while there is no conclusive evidence that the Houthis have modified an Iranian air defence system, a series of factors suggest that such a scenario cannot be ruled out. She noted that the Houthis have repeatedly demonstrated an ability to innovate despite the challenging warfighting environment, making the evolution of their threat capabilities a constant feature of the group’s military trajectory.
Ardemagni also pointed to years of research establishing that the Houthis do not receive fully assembled missiles from Iran. Instead, they receive Iranian-origin components that they assemble themselves, which has given them significant expertise in weapons manufacturing and modification. This pattern of technology transfer and local assembly complicates efforts to verify the precise nature of the weapons being used and raises questions about the extent of Iran’s direct involvement in the development of new capabilities.
The implications of these developments extend well beyond Yemen’s borders. If the Houthis have indeed acquired loitering cruise missiles capable of targeting heat sources without distinguishing between military and civilian objects, the risk to commercial aviation and humanitarian flights in the region would increase substantially. International authorities may face mounting pressure to respond, whether through diplomatic channels, enhanced airspace restrictions, or other measures aimed at safeguarding civilian traffic in the Red Sea corridor.
For Saudi Arabia, the threat is both immediate and strategic. The kingdom’s efforts to restore oil exports through the East-West Pipeline depend on a stable security environment in the Red Sea, and Houthi attacks on Yanbu and other targets directly undermine those efforts. The broader regional conflict, which has already drawn in the United States and Israel, risks further escalation if the Houthis continue to demonstrate advanced strike capabilities and a willingness to use them against high-value economic and military targets.
The coming weeks are likely to prove critical in determining whether the alleged missile modifications represent a genuine shift in the balance of power or an exaggerated claim by the Yemeni government. Either way, the accusations have already injected a new element of uncertainty into an already volatile conflict, with potentially serious consequences for regional stability, international shipping, and the safety of civilian air travel over the Red Sea and beyond.
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