Houthis 'have started producing their own advanced missiles using Chinese parts'

The Houthis have begun producing their own advanced ballistic missiles using Chinese parts, according to a new report. 

Conflict Armament Research, a group that reports on the use of weapons and their supply chains, said that the Iran-backed group are shipping in a range of components from a Chinese supplier to make a version of Iran's Kheibar Shekan missile. 

But the Houthi version, under its current design, would have a range of 1,200 miles – 300 more than Iranian variants – which puts all of Saudi Arabia and Israel within reach of Yemen. 

Iran used the Kheibar Shekan missile against US bases during the war with the US last spring. 

The weapons are known for being cheap, mobile and very precise. They are known for being more effective than other Iranian weapons as it can manoeuvre out of the way of missile defences. 

In some variants, the warhead detaches during the final phase of flight and uses a small engine to make adjustments to its speed and direction, giving it the ability to soar into a target at up to 6,000 miles per hour.  

The report was based on information from Yemeni government authorities who seized two shipments last year that had Chinese missile equipment hidden inside. 

It is not currently clear how far along the production process the Houthis are as their weapons facilities are well-disguised. 

Though the Houthis have long been designated a terrorist organisation, they have forged deeper relationships with China and other suppliers. 

According to the UN and data collected by arms experts, Chinese companies are now the biggest source of seized goods bound for the Houthis. 

Most of the Houthis' US-sanctioned drone parts suppliers are based in China. 

Henry Thompson, a former expert on the UN's Yemen sanctions panel, told the Wall Street Journal that he believes the Chinese have been sending components for solid-fuel ballistic missiles for at least two years. 

With these, 'the Houthis can reach deep into Saudi Arabia with a bigger payload than cruise missiles and drones,' he said, adding: 'They are going to be a more potent threat.'

Overnight, Houthi rebels hit the headquarters of the Saudi state-owned oil company Aramco, damaging the offices of the firm's chief executive and other top officials.

The strike, in the eastern Saudi Arabian city of Dhahran, was the latest demonstration of the Houthis' ability to attack high-profile targets.

There were no casualties in the attack, which the officials said damaged the building's top three floors.

The Houthis had warned earlier they were targeting Dhahran with a ballistic missile. Late Wednesday evening, Houthi-run broadcaster al-Masirah reported strikes on the capital Sanaa, blaming Saudi Arabia. The Saudi coalition has not commented on the strikes.

The sight of smoke rising from some of Saudi Arabia's most sensitive facilities in recent days has rattled the region and global markets while increasing questions for US President Donald Trump, who has said he's evaluating whether the US should join Saudi strikes against the Houthis in the latest front in the Iran war.

The Saudi energy ministry reported a 'limited fire' at the Aramco building Tuesday night. Aramco didn't immediately respond to a request for comment.

On Wednesday, Saudi civil defence authorities in the capital, Riyadh, said debris from an intercepted strike had left one person injured. Images showed a damaged building and a vehicle with a large cylindrical object, seemingly part of a missile, lodged in its hood.

The Saudi-led coalition said that it had intercepted two Houthi drones, four cruise missiles and one ballistic missile targeting Riyadh, a ballistic missile targeting Dhahran and a cruise missile targeting Al-Kharj, a key military and industrial city. Alerts for incoming missiles were also sounded around Riyadh, though details weren't immediately clear.

The Houthis called the attacks retaliation for 'treacherous Saudi aggression' against Sanaa, the rebel-held Yemeni capital, and other areas, as the kingdom backs the forces of neighbouring Yemen's internationally recognized government in a major military offensive launched a week and a half ago. The rebel-run Health Ministry reported two dead in attacks in Yemen on Tuesday and blamed the Saudis.

The Houthis have repeatedly targeted Saudi airports, military facilities and oil infrastructure. King Khalid International Airport in Riyadh has been targeted multiple times in the past week with strikes that have killed at least 18 people and wounded more than 300 others, greatly affecting aviation across the kingdom.

The Houthis, hardened by years of civil war, have emerged as Iran's most effective armed proxy of the moment but experts say they also have their own agenda. Either way, they are applying increasing pressure on a key US ally.

There has been an 'unprecedented surge' in combat casualties along Yemen's front lines, according to the International Committee of the Red Cross, particularly in the city of Marib, along the Red Sea coast and the besieged city of Taiz, where the World Food Programme says it can no longer reach more than 600,000 people who depend on aid.

Main roads leading into Yemen's third-largest city have been closed amid rebel attacks, with regular clashes on the outskirts and overnight bombardment.

Residents are increasingly worried about dwindling supplies of fuel and food.

A Taiz resident, who spoke on condition of anonymity fearing the Houthis could seize the city, said that long lines now form outside shops, and public transportation has become increasingly scarce because of fuel shortages. The sound of loud explosions keeps her awake at night, she said in a telephone interview, adding that downtown Taiz hasn't been shelled.

On Wednesday, schools in Taiz were ordered closed for a month.

A senior Houthi official told The Associated Press that regional and international powers have reached out in an effort to stop the attacks on Saudi Arabia as part of a ceasefire deal.

Mohamed al-Bukhaiti, a member of the Houthis' political bureau, said that Oman has tried to get both sides back to the negotiating table, and Russia and China also tried via Iran.

'We're welcoming any mediation that leads to an end of the war and the blockade between Sanaa and Riyadh,' he said. 'We're ready for a comprehensive end of the war and the blockade from both sides, not just a temporary ceasefire.'

The rebels continued to warn of attacks on both airports and oil facilities. More than 3,000 flights scheduled to depart from airports across Saudi Arabia have been cancelled or listed as not operating in the past week. 

The escalation has highlighted Saudi Arabia's struggle to intercept Houthi missiles and drones. The kingdom has pressed allies like the United States for more military support. Regional officials say Saudi Arabia, the world's top purchaser of US weapons, is running low on interceptors.

The Saudis are trying to stop daily attacks across a territory about three times the size of Texas. Experts say intercepting all of the missiles and drones is impossible. The Houthis have a large arsenal capable of reaching targets well over 1,000 miles away, with some warheads capable of changing direction midflight.

The Saudi-led coalition is also striking oil targets. Earlier Wednesday, the Houthi-run Health Ministry said that two people were killed in an air strike on Tuesday on an oil facility near the Ras Isa port in Hodeida province. The coalition attacked another oil facility in Sanaa.

The targeting of fuel storage facilities in Houthi-controlled areas marks a new phase, said Ahmed Nagi, senior Yemen analyst at the International Crisis Group, a think-tank. He said that in a war of attrition, the rebels could risk losing much of their military capacity.

'The Houthis are betting on pressure, while the Saudis are betting on time,' Mr Nagi said.

The fighting has revived Yemen's civil war after four years of relative calm.

'There's a huge fear,' said one Sanaa resident, Umm Shadi, after the Saudi-led strikes there on Tuesday, adding that people are largely staying home.

A United Nations staff member detained by the rebels has been released, the UN special envoy for Yemen said Wednesday. Sami al-Kalabi, who was detained in June 2024, has been freed, Hans Grundberg said. Last week, the World Food Program announced the release of one of its employees.

The Houthis continue to hold 71 UN workers arbitrarily detained over the past few years. Aid workers are often held for months without charges, accused of being spies for the West or Israel, claims their families deny.