The Saudi-led military coalition in Yemen said it is striking Houthi positions in Taiz and Marib. It also said it has intercepted a fresh wave of missiles and drones aimed at Saudi Arabia, in a conflict that is increasingly tied to the wider US-Israel war on Iran.

According to the coalition, air defences shot down a ballistic missile launched towards the Red Sea city of Yanbu, two cruise missiles over the Red Sea, and three drones over the southern and Riyadh regions. Earlier in the week, it also reported intercepting a cruise missile over the western Medina region, a claim the Houthis dismissed as a “shameless and brazen lie.”

On the ground, a Yemeni military source in the Taiz command said two air strikes hit Houthi positions in the Dhi al-Barih and Jaba areas of al-Misrakh district, south of Taiz city. The armed forces of Yemen’s internationally recognised government say they have seized key positions in Marib and killed 430 Houthi fighters. Those figures have not been independently verified.

The Houthis have separately claimed that Saudi warplanes carried out more than 100 strikes across Yemen in a single 24-hour period, including in Taiz, Marib and Hodeidah.

The humanitarian situation in Taiz is worsening. Houthi forces surrounded the city on October 13 amid fighting with coalition-backed forces, and residents have reported heavy bombardment. Yemen’s government has asked the UN Security Council to help lift the siege and warned of a humanitarian catastrophe.

Displaced families sheltering in a school in the city are struggling to get basic supplies such as water.

Riyadh says the Houthis have escalated their attacks on Saudi transport hubs and oil facilities. The coalition says Riyadh’s airport has been attacked 20 times this month, and explosions were reported near Aramco’s compound in Dhahran in one of the deadliest attacks on the kingdom in years. Saudi officials say Iran continues to arm, train and support the group. Tehran rejects the accusation, saying it played no role in Houthi operations, and has offered to mediate between the Houthis and Riyadh.

The fighting is feeding directly into the broader Iran war, which is now in its 230th day. US President Donald Trump has warned the Houthis, saying they are behaving “very badly” and probably acting at Iran’s behest.

He has not said whether Washington will join Saudi strikes, and the Houthis have threatened “swift and painful” attacks on US targets if it does. Meanwhile, Iran’s acting oil minister, Hamid Bovard, said Tehran will take “precise, appropriate retaliatory measures at the right time” to counter threats to its energy facilities.

Shipping in the Strait of Hormuz remains exposed to attacks, and oil prices have been rising.