A low-flying cruise missile such as Soumar could also pose a particular challenge to air defense networks in Saudi Arabia and the UAE. Multiple missiles, or combining them with other weapons as part of a larger strike, could overwhelm the defenders. In the new strike on Abha International Airport, Saudi authorities said they had successfully intercepted two suicide drones, which the Houthis have also obtained from Iran.

There has been a significant increase in Houthi drone attacks on Saudi Arabia since the beginning of May 2019. The group has also employed short-range ballistic missiles, which are also derived from Iranian designs or imported from Iran itself, against Saudi targets, but this appears to be the first time they used one of their cruise missiles against the country.

The Saudi-led coalition has been actively engaged in a brutal and controversial conflict against the Houthis in Yemen since 2015. Iran has been backing the group for at least as long and has aided in the expansion of its arsenal to include these and other relatively advanced weapons. The Saudis claim Iran has also supplied them with Sayyad-2 surface-to-air missiles, a derivative of American-made semi-active radar-homing RIM-66 Standard Missile left over from the regime of the Shah. Iranian support has enabled the Yemeni rebels to launch attacks on military and commercial ships using remote-controlled explosive-laden boats, too.

The cruise missiles only underscore the Houthi's continued ability to acquire the components necessary to locally assemble these types of weapons, or obtain them directly from Iran, despite the Saudi-led coalition's efforts to blockade the country. The United States and its allies have also worked hard to interdict illicit arms shipments to Yemen.

The Houthi cruise missile strike also comes after the U.S. government announced it had received intelligence that purportedly warned of an increased risk of attacks on U.S. forces throughout the Middle East from Iran and its regional proxies. The United States and Saudi Arabia have blamed the Yemeni rebels for attacks on four oil tankers in the Gulf of Oman off the coast of the UAE, but no group has so far taken responsibility for that incident.