The Saudi-led military coalition, in support of the internationally recognized government in Yemen, announced on Saturday the interception and destruction of two ballistic missiles launched by the Ansar Allah group, "Houthis", towards the cities of Taif and Yanbu in the west of the kingdom.
Coalition spokesman Turki Al-Maliki said on the X platform: “Intercepting and destroying two ballistic missiles launched by the terrorist Houthi militia towards the cities of Taif and Yanbu.”
The Saudi Civil Defense issued an alert on Saturday to “warn of danger” to residents of the governorates of Jeddah, Taif, Yanbu, and the Holy City of Makkah, then lifted it minutes later, at a time when attacks by the Iranian-backed Yemeni Houthis have continued on the Kingdom since the beginning of the month.
The Saudi Civil Defense called on residents to remain calm and stay inside.
The Saudi-led coalition supporting legitimacy in Yemen announced that it intercepted and destroyed a ballistic missile launched by the Houthis towards Riyadh at dawn on Saturday, while Agence France-Presse reported that two explosions were heard in the Saudi capital.
The developments coincided with international warnings of the worsening humanitarian crisis in the Yemeni city of Taiz, and European and regional calls to contain the escalation through dialogue.
The coalition announced the interception of the missile heading towards Riyadh, after it had announced the interception and destruction of a drone in the eastern region, according to statements reported by Reuters and Agence France-Presse.
Coalition spokesman Turki Al-Maliki said in a post on the X platform, “A drone was intercepted and destroyed in the eastern region.”
An Agence France-Presse journalist reported hearing two explosions in Riyadh early Saturday, without the information received specifying the cause of the sounds.
The Saudi Civil Defense had issued warnings of a potential danger in Riyadh, Najran, and Wadi Al-Dawasir Governorate, and activated the early warning system to alert residents, before announcing that the danger had passed in the three regions.
These developments come in light of repeated attacks on Saudi Arabia during October, which Riyadh attributes to the Iran-backed Ansar Allah group.
According to Agence France-Presse, the group has previously repeatedly denied Saudi accusations of launching missiles and drones towards the Kingdom. The news received did not include a comment on the announcement of the interception of the missile and drone at dawn on Saturday.
Tehran denied any connection to the Ansar Allah group's attacks on Saudi Arabia, after Riyadh accused it of encouraging the group to escalate against the Kingdom, according to Agence France-Presse.
In a previous development, the Emirati airline Etihad Airways extended the suspension of its flights to and from Riyadh and Dammam until November 5, according to a statement it issued on Thursday, the details of which were reported by Agence France-Presse on Friday.
The company attributed the decision to "operational disturbances" and said that it would operate only daytime flights to Jeddah, while canceling night flights until the same time.
The company suspended its flights to Riyadh on October 12, two days after an attack on a passenger terminal at the capital’s airport, killing 13 people, according to the agency.
Two people were also killed and eight injured in an attack on Dammam Airport on the evening of Wednesday, October 21. The airport was reopened the next day, while Riyadh Airport remained closed, according to an Agence France-Presse report received on Friday.
On the diplomatic level, the foreign ministers of Britain, France, Germany, Italy, Turkey, Saudi Arabia, Pakistan, and Egypt met in Istanbul on Friday to discuss regional developments, including Yemen, the attacks on Saudi Arabia, and the situation in the Straits of Hormuz and Bab al-Mandab.
Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan said that the participating countries do not want the war to expand, and that they see “diplomacy and dialogue as the only way forward.”
His French counterpart, Jean-Noel Barrot, warned that a new escalation between Iran and the United States would have severe repercussions on oil and gas prices, calling on both parties to exercise the utmost restraint. He added that the eight countries agreed to continue their meetings periodically.
The meeting came after French President Emmanuel Macron announced on Wednesday that French forces would help protect the Yanbu oil facility on the Red Sea. On Tuesday, Britain announced the deployment of fighter jets to help Saudi Arabia defend itself against attacks by the Ansar Allah group, according to Agence France-Presse.
Egyptian President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi said on Wednesday that Egypt will defend Saudi territory, but will not participate in any attack on Yemen.
In Yemen, the United Nations warned on Friday that time is running out to deliver aid to Taiz, the third largest city in the country, which has been besieged by Ansar Allah forces since the beginning of October, according to Agence France-Presse.
The agency said that the group's fighters closed the road linking the city to Aden, the temporary capital of the internationally recognized government supported by Saudi Arabia.
Fighting renewed in Yemen in July, after a fragile truce that lasted for four years, according to Agence France-Presse, amid the repercussions of the conflict between the United States and Iran on the region. The Yemeni conflict has claimed hundreds of thousands of lives and exacerbated a widespread humanitarian crisis in one of the poorest countries in the world.
