Why Iran is being blamed for attack

A series of suspected drone attacks on Saturday that targeted oil facilities in Saudi Arabia knocked out half the kingdom’s oil output for days. Now, questions are being asked about the extent of the damage and how the attack was carried out.

The key question, however, is who was responsible. Yemen’s Houthi rebels, at the center of a civil war against Saudi-backed forces, have claimed responsibility; on Monday, they threatened additional attacks.

But Western and Saudi officials have cast doubt on the claim, saying the attack did not originate in Yemen. They have instead pointed the finger at a known backer of the Houthis: Iran.

Who are the Houthis?

Based out of Yemen’s northwest, the Houthis first came to international prominence in 2015, when they helped to topple the government of Yemen’s president and regional U.S. ally Abed Rabbo Mansour Hadi.

Their history, however, stretches back to the early 1990s, when a group called Shabab al-Muminin (the Believing Youth) worked to raise awareness about the Zaydi branch of Shiite Islam, which had dominated Yemen for centuries but was sidelined after a civil war in the 1960s.

What are their links to Iran?

Iranian backing of the Houthis appears to have increased over time. But experts on Iran’s network of proxies say the Houthis are among the least dependent on Tehran for financial and military support and decision making. Though the Houthis began as a primarily local movement, and the Zaydi branch of Shiite Islam is significantly different from the theology of the Islamic Republic of Iran, the group is part of a wide network of Tehran-supported armed factions in the Middle East.

Have the Houthis targeted Saudi Arabia before?

Yes. Since the start of the conflict within Yemen, the Houthis have sought to punish Saudi Arabia for its prominent role by launching attacks on Saudi soil. Last year, Saudi officials said they had intercepted over 100 ballistic missiles fired from Houthi territory.

What if the Houthis didn’t do it?

The advanced nature of the attack has led to assertions it did not originate in Yemen but was carried out by Iranian proxies in Iraq or even Iran itself.

It is not clear why the Houthis would claim the strike if so. It may be part of a regional strategy by Iran and its allies that would attempt to sow confusion, though many analysts have argued in the past that the Houthis, driven by local concerns, act independently of Iran when they wish to.