![Image of a missile launch by Mass Communication Specialist 2nd Class Zachary D. Bell [via Wikimedia]](https://staticr1.blastingcdn.com/media/photogallery/2017/12/14/660x290/b_502x220x82/image-of-a-missile-launch-by-mass-communication-specialist-2nd-class-zachary-d-bell-via-wikimedia_1741747.jpg "Image of a missile launch by Mass Communication Specialist 2nd Class Zachary D. Bell [via Wikimedia]")
According to the Houthis' Al Masirah TV, Yemen's Houthi rebels are targeting the al-Yamama Palace in Saudi Arabia. The missile was intercepted over Riyadh by a coalition, led by Saudi Arabia. No deaths or property damage have been reported so far. The coalition believes the Burkan H2 ballistic missile was supplied by Iran because it has an Iranian manufacturers logo on it.
The Houthis' missile was meant to hit the palace while Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman was present
This Tuesday the Houthis fired the missile at the al-Yamama Palace, where the Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman and several other leaders were meeting to discuss the annual budget.
The Houthis' Missile Forces announced that they fired the missile to fight back against "the heinous crimes committed by the US-Saudi aggression against the people of Yemen. " The Saudi-led coalition says that their study of the missile's trajectory suggests that it was supposed to target populated areas and civilians, which would break international law.
Saudi Arabia became involved because of Iran's assumed involvement
This is not the first instance where Saudi Arabia has claimed that Iran was involved in the Yemen civil war. It intervened in the war in 2015 to counter what they believed was an Iranian influence on the Houthis rebels. Since December 6, the air strike that the Saudi-led coalition perform has killed 136 civilians.
In response to a missile attack on November Saudi Arabia created a blockade around Yemen, meant to stop weapons smuggling, that created the world's largest food shortage emergency.
Iran, for its part, has denied providing any military aid to the Houthis rebels. The general opinion seems to be that they are backing them because of the Houthis rebels religion, the Shia Zaidi is a subset of the Shia Imamiya, an Iranian religion.
The missiles the Yemen rebels used were very similar to Iranian missiles; both lacked large stabilizer fins and included nine valves running along their lengths. The missile also included a logo from an Iranian manufacturer. Alireza Miryousefi, a spokesman for Iran, told the UN that the coalition's accusations were "unfounded and, at the same time, irresponsible, provocative, and destructive."
Since 2015 over 8,670 people have been killed and 49,960 people have been injured. The fighting and Saudi Arabia's blockade are also responsible for the cholera outbreak that has killed 2,219 since April and left 20.7 million people in need of humanitarian aid.
