Saudi Arabia has spent more than $200 billion on defence in three years, yet Houthi attacks have exposed vulnerabilities in the kingdom’s critical infrastructure, raising questions about Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman’s leadership and regional ambitions.
Between 2024 and 2025, Saudi Arabia spent $163 billion on defence, making the military the largest item in the kingdom’s budget. Riyadh has also committed billions of dollars to air defence systems, including US-made Patriot PAC-3 missiles and South Korea’s Cheongung-II system, alongside investments in the American THAAD programme.
Despite the spending, attacks attributed to Yemen’s Iran-aligned Houthi movement have reportedly struck Riyadh’s international airport four times in four days, killing 18 people and injuring hundreds, according to the Italian newspaper Corriere della Sera. The attacks have also disrupted flights around the Saudi capital.
A ballistic missile launched by the Houthis has also reportedly hit key facilities belonging to Saudi Aramco in Dhahran. The company, controlled by the Saudi state and listed on the stock market, is one of the world’s most valuable energy businesses. The reported strike has raised concerns about the kingdom’s ability to protect its oil infrastructure from long-range attacks.
The attacks represent a challenge not only to Saudi Arabia’s security but also to bin Salman’s political standing. His modernisation agenda, which aims to reduce the economy’s dependence on oil, has required substantial investment. Repeated attacks on strategic infrastructure risk undermining confidence in the kingdom’s security and its ambitions to attract international business.
Pressure on Riyadh’s regional strategy
The article argues that the Houthi campaign, backed by Iran, may have a broader objective than disrupting Saudi oil exports: weakening bin Salman’s authority and creating conditions for a potential shift in the kingdom’s leadership. One possible scenario would involve changes within the ruling family that favour factions more willing to accommodate Tehran’s influence in the Gulf.
Such an outcome would reverse the stated aims of US President Donald Trump’s campaign against Iran, which has included efforts to weaken the Iranian leadership. Saudi Arabia, formally aligned with Washington, could instead find its own leadership under growing pressure from Iran and its regional allies.
The timing is particularly sensitive for bin Salman. Riyadh is due to host the Future Investment Initiative, a major gathering of political and business leaders, as the kingdom faces security threats and uncertainty over the protection of its infrastructure. The attacks could complicate efforts to present Saudi Arabia as a stable destination for international investment.
Hormuz remains a key source of leverage
The dispute also centres on the Strait of Hormuz, a vital route for global oil shipments. The article suggests that Saudi Arabia may be among the last Gulf governments refusing to pay Iran informal fees to allow oil tankers to pass through the strait. Tehran’s continued influence over shipping would challenge US claims that its campaign has significantly weakened Iran’s control of the waterway.
Oil flows through the strait reportedly recovered to nearly 15 million barrels per day in September, up from 6.5 million in May but still below the almost 20 million barrels recorded in February. The article attributes part of the recovery to shipping operators quietly agreeing to pay Iran for passage.
Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps reportedly struck two Singapore-linked merchant ships on Wednesday. It has also emerged that two tankers linked to the United States and travelling from the Gulf had their engines disabled in August, one near Gibraltar and the other in the Atlantic, according to the report.
Brent crude remains elevated at around $106 a barrel. Riyadh is seeking to ease pressure on oil supplies by announcing plans to convert an existing gas pipeline into an oil pipeline, allowing an additional 1.5 million barrels per day to be transported outside the Gulf without passing through the Strait of Hormuz.
Whether Iran and the Houthis can translate their military pressure into a political shift in Saudi Arabia remains uncertain. But the reported attacks have exposed a gap between the kingdom’s substantial defence spending and its ability to protect key assets, placing renewed scrutiny on bin Salman’s security strategy and economic ambitions.
Be First to Comment