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Najran drone strikes
Yemeni Armed Forces announced two successful drone operations targeting a sensitive site at Saudi Arabia’s Najran Airport and Aramco’s Najran facility, as the reports circulated on Thursday, 20/08/2026.
“They “successfully” hit a target at Najran airport and an Aramco facility”
Roya News framed the same Najran attacks as Houthis carrying out two drone strikes on targets in Najran province, with the group’s military spokesperson Yahya Saree saying they “successfully” hit a target at Najran airport and an Aramco facility.
Shafaq News likewise said Sanaa Yemen’s Houthis carried out two drone attacks on Thursday, striking a “sensitive target” at Najran airport and an Aramco facility in southern Saudi Arabia, while adding there was no immediate confirmation from Saudi authorities of damage or casualties.
ACLED described the broader pattern as Houthis ramping up activity in Yemen and Saudi Arabia, engaging in an aerial campaign against Saudi Arabia’s oil facilities and tankers while Saudi forces conducted retaliatory strikes against Houthi military targets.
Iran, US and Gulf warnings
Roya News reported that Iran’s armed forces warned Gulf countries against assisting the US military on Wednesday, hours after the United Arab Emirates announced it was severing economic ties with Tehran following new attacks on shipping.
Roya News quoted Iranian armed forces chief of staff Ali Abdollahi, according to the Mehr news agency, warning that "any assistance or facilitation provided to the aggressor US military amounts to participation in the US military operation".
Roya News also said the conflict broke out on February 28 with US-‘Israeli’ attacks on the Islamic republic, and that since then attacks on commercial ships have continued even as the Strait of Hormuz remains a flashpoint.
In the same Roya News account, UNIFIL called on all parties in Lebanon to cease violations of UN Security Council Resolution 1701 and avoid actions that could further escalate tensions, while Iraq’s Qasim al-Obaidi said Iraq’s constitution does not permit armed groups to threaten the security of other countries.
Yemen slides toward war
Al Jazeera reported that government forces have carried out dozens of attacks on Houthi positions across Yemen in the past 24 hours, with government spokesperson Majed Abdullah al-Nuzaili saying the attacks led to the “neutralisation” of a number of Houthi fighters and field commanders.
“the “neutralisation” of a number of Houthi fighters and field commanders”
Al Jazeera also said the Houthis carried out two drone attacks on targets in Saudi Arabia’s Najran province, and that Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps warned on Thursday that Saudi Arabia would be “unable to contain” the Houthis as the rebels ramp up attacks on the kingdom.
ACLED warned that the persistent escalation on multiple fronts increases the risk of renewed large-scale violence in Yemen, not seen since 2022, and said the Houthis are unlikely to cease their attacks without a concession from Saudi Arabia to the group's demands.
Al Jazeera added that at least 18 million people in Yemen do not have reliable access to enough food, and that UN Human Rights Chief Volker Turk urged both sides to “spare the Yemeni people from further misery” and “halt immediately any actions that risk returning Yemen to full-scale conflict.”