Direct proof of use
The 358/Saqr is documented in the 2014 Yemen Civil War through two linked evidence streams: interdictions of Yemen-bound Iranian 358 missiles and official reporting that Houthi forces used the Houthi-designated Saqr in Yemen. U.S. Central Command said the November 2019 USS Forrest Sherman seizure included five near-fully assembled Iranian-designed and manufactured 358 surface-to-air missiles assessed as intended for the Houthis in Yemen, and that the February 2020 USS Normandy cache included three more 358 missiles.
The Defense Intelligence Agency later connected the Houthi Saqr to the Iranian 358 by comparing a Saqr displayed in Sanaa, a 358 displayed in Tehran, and a 358 interdicted from a dhow headed to Yemen. DIA stated that the Houthis had used the Saqr to attack U.S. UAVs in Yemen.
Sources: U.S. Dhow Interdictions, Seized At Sea: Iranian Weapons Smuggled to the Houthis
Timeline of documented appearances
Public documentation begins with maritime interdictions rather than an announced battlefield debut. CENTCOM identified five 358 missiles in the November 25, 2019 USS Forrest Sherman seizure and three more in the February 9, 2020 USS Normandy seizure, both assessed in the context of arms transfers to the Houthis in Yemen.
The U.S. Department of Justice later described the same November 2019 and February 2020 seizures as part of an IRGC trafficking network designed to distribute weapons to the Houthi movement in Yemen. In 2022, the UK Ministry of Defence reported another maritime seizure whose technical analysis identified a batch of 358 surface-to-air missiles.
By September 2023, the Saqr name had appeared in Houthi public display material, and DIA's 2024 comparison treated the Saqr and 358 as the same family based on visible features and the Yemen-bound interdicted example.
Sources: U.S. Dhow Interdictions, United States Prevails in Iranian Missile Forfeiture Actions, UK Reveals Royal Navy Seizure of Smuggled Iranian Missiles, Seized At Sea: Iranian Weapons Smuggled to the Houthis
Operational role
In Yemen, the missile's documented role is Houthi-aligned air defense rather than ground attack. U.S. Army T2COM describes the 358 as a loitering anti-aircraft missile employed by Yemen's Houthis and characterizes it as most relevant against helicopters and some UAVs rather than fast aircraft.
The public record does not cleanly match every claimed UAV loss to a specific Saqr/358 launch. The strongest official conflict-use claim is DIA's statement that the Houthis used the Saqr to attack U.S. UAVs in Yemen, while AP reporting in 2025 described footage from a claimed National Resistance Force seizure that appeared to show Type 358 anti-aircraft missiles and noted Houthi claims of MQ-9 shootdowns across the Yemen war.
Sources: Yemen's Houthis Employ Iranian 358 Loitering Anti-Aircraft Missile, Seized At Sea: Iranian Weapons Smuggled to the Houthis, Yemen Fighters Claim Seizure of Iranian-Supplied Houthi Weapons
