Strategic Missiles on Saudi Arabia's Borders and the Red Sea: Navigating Deterrence and Escalation

The Ansar Allah (Houthi) group transferred long-range ballistic missiles from their hideouts to Kahlan camp in Sa'ada on the border with Saudi Arabia, informed sources told Sheba Intelligence on Saturday.

According to the sources, the movements of the Houthi forces in the border areas suggest that the group plans to launch attacks on strategic targets.

The majority of the transferred missiles were seized from state camps in 2014, and the missiles have been maintained and developed by foreign experts.

It remains to be seen if these missiles will be fired at Israeli interests in the Red Sea or targets in Gulf countries, including the oil facilities and ports, which the Houthis accuse of being linked to American and Israeli interests.

International sources told Sheba Intelligence that there is a discrepancy between the British and the Americans in the recently announced multinational task force for protecting commercial ships in the Red Sea.

According to the sources, the British are keen to launch a strategic strike on the Houthis, costing them their control of  Al-Hudaydah Port. However, President Biden and the politicians in the White House prefer not to escalate the conflict with the Houthis. The White House political officials opt for limited strikes, if necessary, to stop the Houthis from targeting international shipping lanes.

On Wednesday, the leader of the Houthi group confirmed in a speech the information published by Sheba Intelligence about Iran giving the Houthis the green light to target American battleships in the Red Sea.

Abdul Malik Al-Houthi said that they would target American interests if Washington tended to target Yemen. He added, "We will make American battleships, American interests, and American shipping traffic a target for our missiles, drones, and military operations."

However, the situation in the Red Sea has remained calm since Wednesday, and no hijacking or attacking of any ship has been reported.

Sources told Sheba Intelligence that the Houthis listened to Oman's advice to reduce the escalation so that the international task force would not target areas under the group's control. Oman also advised the Houthis to complete negotiations with Saudi Arabia to sign a peace agreement to end the war in Yemen.

The official spokesman, Muhammad Abdel Salam, acknowledged the existence of international communications to calm the situation in the Red Sea. On December 16, he stated, "Under the sponsorship of our brothers in the Sultanate of Oman, communication and discussion continue with a number of international parties regarding operations in the Red Sea and Arabian Sea."