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Houthi attacks on Saudi Arabia's airports and energy-related facilities have posed a big challenge to the leadership of Saudi Arabia.
There is a danger of these attacks affecting Saudi Arabia's 'Vision 2030' plan. The aim of this major plan of Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman is to reduce the country's dependence on oil and to make Saudi Arabia a major global center of investment, tourism and entertainment.
But continuous attacks can damage Saudi Arabia's image as a stable and safe country.
Opponents of the Saudi government say Mohammed bin Salman, considered the country's de facto ruler, is facing 'one of the biggest crises' of his rule.
He claims that during this period the support he received from America has reduced and he has also received limited help from other allies of Saudi Arabia.
Who are the opponents of Saudi government?
Political parties are banned in Saudi Arabia and the government does not accept political opposition.
Because of this, most of the opponents of the Saudi government work outside the country.
These include opponents of Sunni Islamic ideology, liberals and pro-democracy reformists, activists working for the rights of the Shia community, and independent critics.
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One of the most organized groups among the opposition is the 'National Assembly Party'. It includes workers with different ideas and backgrounds.
Opponents of the Saudi government also run some media organizations. These include 'Al-Islah' and 'Nabaa' TV networks. His videos are viewed millions of times on YouTube.
'Stop taking careless decisions'
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As Houthi attacks on Saudi Arabia intensified in October, government opponents living abroad raised questions about the way the war was being handled.
He called it a failure that has made Saudi Arabia more unsafe than before.
Human rights activist and democracy supporter Yahya Asiri strongly opposed Riyadh's role in the Yemen war. However, he also opposed causing any harm to the people, resources and infrastructure of Saudi Arabia.
He wrote on the social media platform
Asiri condemned the killing of civilians on behalf of all parties. Along with Riyadh, he also mentioned the killing of civilians in Yemen's besieged city of Taiz and Houthi-controlled Sanaa and Hodeida.
His party 'National Assembly Party' demanded an end to the war.
The party asked the Saudi leadership to stop taking such 'reckless decisions, due to which everyone's life is in danger.'
Ali al-Ahmed, an anti-government figure from the Shia community, also appealed to Mohammed bin Salman to end the war.
He said, "End this war, reach an agreement and save people's lives."
Writer and Shia activist Fuad Ibrahim wrote on X: "Stop this game. Enough is enough. Only the most broken people will believe your lies."
Questions on America and Mecca Agreement
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Opponents of the government have termed the support from America in this war as inadequate.
He also raised questions on the limitations of the Mecca agreement with Türkiye and Pakistan.
This agreement was presented as a mutual defense alliance like NATO. But opponents say that Ankara and Islamabad have not yet provided any major help to Saudi Arabia.
The website 'Sout Al-Nass', which opposes Mohammed bin Salman, called this agreement a mere 'sham'.
'Spending on big events instead of security'
As the fighting intensified, questions have also increased on Mohammed bin Salman's domestic priorities.
Opponents say that a lot of money was spent on entertainment and major development works, but the price had to be paid in the form of weakening of the country's security.
The number of people demanding answers from Mohammed bin Salman on social media has also increased.
Some critics say that he invested billions of dollars in 'Vision 2030', but could not secure the country.
Saeed bin Nasser al-Ghamdi, head of the human rights organization 'Sanad', wrote on Twitter on October 11 that Mohammed bin Salman involved the entire country in it by starting the Yemen war.
According to reports, al-Ghamdi has sought asylum in Britain.
He wrote, "After this they made a ceasefire with the Houthis in 2022 and sat comfortably amidst entertainment songs, dance parties and imaginary projects. During this time the Houthis kept preparing for a long war."
Other critics have also noted the increasing number of cultural events, sporting events and concerts in Saudi Arabia. Questions have been raised earlier also regarding these events.
Some social media users in the area said that these events are against Islamic values.
He questioned why the government gave more importance to 'cultural programmes' than regional security and national defence.
The opposition group 'Saudi Bass' said that Saudi citizens are 'living in fear', while the government has 'opened the doors of the country to dance and sing.'
'These parties should be closed'
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The page 'Towards Freedom' on X shared a video of a concert. This page has 12 lakh followers.
Some women were seen dancing in the video.
"If you're really serious about confronting the Houthis, these parties need to be shut down," Page wrote.
Anti-government journalist Turki al-Shalhoub told his 1.7 million followers on X that "defense industry promises" were lost once Saudi Arabia faced a real military challenge.
He asked, "Where have the billions of dollars earmarked for this industry gone?"
Due to the incidents which the opponents say is a failure of the security system, some people have also intensified the demand for removal of the Saudi government from power.
'Israel benefited from this war'
Some opponents of the Saudi government say that Israel has benefited from Saudi Arabia's war against the Houthis.
US President Donald Trump said on October 16 that Saudi Arabia is 'very happy' to receive help from Israel. He also said that the possibility of normalizing relations between the two countries is under discussion 'more than ever'.
Abdullah al-Ouda, a US-based researcher and member of the 'National Assembly Party', shared this video on X with the hashtag 'Normalizing relations is betrayal'.
He opposed any role for America in the war.
Al-Auda said that the people of Saudi Arabia and its infrastructure are paying the 'price' of this war.
Al-Ghamdi said on Twitter that Saudi Arabia spent billions of dollars on dance and football stadiums. According to him, this is why when the Houthi attacks started, it had to look towards Israel for help.
Yahya Asiri also wrote in a post on October 11 that "those who are inciting war" will undermine the stability of the region and "strengthen Israel."
'Saudi Leaks' website has also talked about the possibility of Saudi Arabia and Israel coming closer.
The website claimed that Israel was also involved in the recent action against the Houthis in Yemen.
What could be the impact on 'Vision 2030'?
Image source: Maya Siddiqui/Bloomberg via Getty Images
As the year 2030 approaches, major obstacles appear in front of Mohammed bin Salman's economic plan.
'Vision 2030' is a big plan to transform the oil-dependent Saudi economy.
Opponents of the government say that the success of this scheme depends on the stability of the country and the confidence of investors. But the ongoing war in the region is raising questions on both of them.
Saudi-British professor Madawi al-Rashid wrote on X that Western analysts have been praising 'Vision 2030', but Riyadh's economic dream has now become 'a thing of the past'.
He said that Mohammed bin Salman has lost control over the story of success and happiness in the western media.
Saad al-Faqih, a London-based leader of the 'Movement for Islamic Reform in Arabia' and presenter of the 'Al-Islah' network, said that the Western media is now 'making fun' of the Saudi leadership.
Turki al-Shalhoub wrote on X that focusing on glamor and show off will not help much in the security of Saudi citizens.
Accusation of increasing restrictions on opponents
Amidst the latest tension, there have also been reports that some social media accounts of government opponents within Saudi Arabia have been closed.
According to 'The Guardian' report, more than 60 accounts of opponents of the Saudi government were closed on X in August.
Earlier in May, the Committee to Protect Journalists had called for action against media coverage of the war with Iran in Gulf countries.
The organization said that in Saudi Arabia, 'reporting on sensitive political matters is considered a crime against national security.'
In the same month, 'Sanad', a human rights organization working in Britain, said that Saudi authorities have closed the TikTok, Snapchat and Meta accounts of government opponents.
The organization claimed that the authorities are also trying to extend these restrictions till June.
In October, the Houthis attacked Saudi Arabia's infrastructure. Meanwhile, Britain-based anti-government and comedian Ghanim al-Dosari accused Riyadh of closing his X account.
According to al-Dosari, he had posted about the people killed in the Houthi attack on King Khalid International Airport. After this his account was closed.
He sarcastically said, "Still, Saudi Arabia could not stop the missiles and drones of the Houthis."
Published by Collective Newsroom for the BBC.
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