Saudi-led Coalition Thwarts Houthi Missile Attack on Riyadh

The Saudi-led coalition engaged in the conflict in Yemen announced on Sunday that it successfully intercepted and destroyed two ballistic missiles launched by the Iran-aligned Houthi group targeting Riyadh. Residents of the Saudi capital reported hearing loud explosions shortly after Saudi Civil Defence issued an alert for the Riyadh region. Authorities later confirmed that the immediate threat had subsided. The coalition further reported intercepting and destroying two additional cruise missiles aimed at both Riyadh and southern Saudi Arabia.

A spokesperson for the Houthi military, Yahya Saree, stated on Saturday that the group had conducted six operations involving ballistic missiles, cruise missiles, and drones against targets within Saudi Arabia and Yemen. According to Mr. Saree, these attacks were directed at Khalid International Airport and Aramco facilities in Riyadh and Khurais, as well as Pumping Station No. 8 in Dawadmi. He also claimed that Houthi forces engaged Saudi troops in Najran and in Yemen’s Al-Jawf and Ma’rib provinces, asserting that these actions resulted in numerous casualties.

This escalation in hostilities has disrupted a United Nations-brokered truce that had been largely maintained since 2022. The conflict began in 2015 when Saudi Arabia led a coalition of Arab states into Yemen to reinstate the internationally recognized government after the Houthis seized control of Sanaa. The conflict has since evolved into a component of the broader Middle East tensions, exacerbated by actions attributed to the United States and Israel against Iran in February. Since hostilities resumed in July, the Houthis have targeted Saudi airports, ports, and oil infrastructure with missiles and drones, while Saudi Arabia has conducted retaliatory airstrikes against Houthi positions in Yemen.

The most recent incident occurred one day after Yemen’s Houthi-run health ministry reported that Saudi airstrikes near Sanaa had caused at least 33 fatalities. Saudi authorities indicated that they were investigating these reported strikes.