At a time when Saudi Arabia and Iran are engaged in a contest for regional dominance, Iran-backed Yemeni Houthi militants have fired missiles at Saudi Arabia. The latest was fired at the capital, Riyadh, on December 19.

Despite sharp UN warnings that the Saudi-led coalition’s blockade of Yemen could trigger the largest famine the world has seen for decades, the missile attacks give credence to Saudi coalition’s claim that easing the blockade would help the smuggling of weapons, including missiles from Iran, into Houthi-held Yemeni territory.

Granted, the blockade causes non-military shortages, but lifting it ensures the Houthi militants will get more missiles to fire at the population centers in the Gulf states, possibly killing civilians if missile-interception attempts fail. ATimes