Princess Reema calls for global campaign to defeat Iran-backed Houthis in Yemen

Saudi Arabia’s ambassador to the United States, Princess Reema bint Bandar, has called for an international campaign to defeat the Iran-backed Houthis, warning that the group poses a growing terrorist threat extending far beyond Yemen.

In an op-ed published in the New York Times, Princess Reema pointed to the October 10 Houthi attack on the King Khalid International Airport in Riyadh, which killed 13 people and left hundreds injured.

“ISIS was defeated by local forces backed by a coalition of more than 80 nations. The Houthis can be defeated the same way,” Princess Reema said, adding that this is Yemen’s fight to lead.

The ambassador highlighted the bravery of Ebtehal bint Abdullah, a Riyadh Air passenger employee who helped evacuate travelers and assist the wounded despite suffering injuries herself.

“The Houthis sent a missile to spread terror. Ms. Abdullah answered it with courage,” Princess Reema wrote.

Describing the airport attack as an act of terrorism, she argued that the international community must confront the Houthis with the same determination used to defeat ISIS.

Princess Reema warned that the Houthis have developed an increasingly sophisticated military network with Iranian support, firing more than 1,000 ballistic missiles and drones into Saudi Arabia since March 2016.

She also cited UN findings that Houthi engineers had shared bombmaking and drone expertise with al-Shabaab militants in Somalia, alongside reports of Houthi efforts to use artificial intelligence in missile development.

“The Houthis today are what ISIS was before it seized Mosul in Iraq and proclaimed a caliphate: a terrorist movement the world underestimated,” she wrote.

Princess Reema called on every country to follow the United States in its decision to designate the Houthis as a terrorist organization as well as enforce financial sanctions, intercept weapons shipments and strengthen Yemen’s internationally recognized government.

“The international community should set a clear goal to end the Houthis as an armed terrorist force,” she wrote.

The ambassador also defended Saudi Arabia’s military and humanitarian support for Yemen, arguing that Yemeni government forces must lead efforts to dismantle the Houthis’ military capabilities.

Princess Reema stressed that ending the Houthis’ armed campaign was essential to achieving a Yemeni-led political settlement.

“Ending the Houthis’ armed terror is the only path to the Yemeni-led political settlement Saudi Arabia has always supported,” she said.