Yemeni Houthi forces are claiming a huge victory in the four-year long war in Yemen that has drawn in Saudi Arabia and other conservative Gulf Arab states against the Iran-backed Shiite Houthi.

Making an amazing claim, the Houthis say they have captured “thousands” of Saudi troops in a surprise attack on the Saudi border town of Najran.  If this claim is true, then the Saudis will lose face in the Middle East and perhaps be seen as a paper tiger with a lot of expensive military weaponry, but little real power or ability in a ground fight.

This stunning claim comes only a short time after the Houthis claimed a big victory in an airborne attack on Saudi oil facilities that shut down half of the Saudi oil industry.  Many, including the U.S. blame Iran for the Saudi oil attack, partially in the belief that the Houthis do not possess the capacity to carry out the air raid.

Similarly, if the ground victory at Najran is real, than most likely, the Saudis and the U.S. will again blame direct Iranian involvement.  Iranian ground forces are already in combat in Syria in support of the Assad regime in the ongoing Syrian Civil War.