US slams Iran-backed Houthis for terrorist attacks on Saudi Arabia

The US said Monday it stood by Saudi Arabia, which has continued to face terrorist attacks by the Iran-backed Houthis in Yemen, hours after two ballistic missiles over Riyadh were intercepted.

“We have made very clear that we stand with our Saudi partners who have, for quite some time, endured terrorist attacks by the Houthis in Yemen,” State Department Spokesman Ned Price said in response to a question about the earlier attacks.

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Price said the attacks took place as he walked into the daily press briefing, so he did not have a specific reaction.

“But certainly [it] has been a pattern of play where the Houthis have demonstrated through their actions on the ground, including their offensive against Marib, through their continuing attacks against Saudi Arabia, including attacks that have the potential to inflict grievous harm on civilians in Saudi Arabia, that at the current moment, they are the obstacle to diplomacy,” he said.

“They are the obstacle to finding a resolution” to the yearslong war in Yemen, Price said.

Read more: Iran-backed Houthis continue to detain US, UN employees: State Department