Saudi Arabia intercepted seven ballistic missiles fired at Riyadh and other cities by Iranian-backed Houthi rebels in Yemen on late Sunday over the northeastern part of the capital and the cities of Najran, Jazan and Khamis Mushait. Missile segments killed one Egyptian national and injured two others in Riyadh.
The rebels targeted King Khaled International airport in Riyadh, Abha airport in Aseer and Najran’s airport. Rebel leader Abdulmalik al-Houthi said in a televised speech that the group’s missile force is growing and that it enters the fourth year of the war with a “developed rocket system that cannot be intercepted by the U.S. defense systems. But the accusations of Saudi Arabia rejected Iran and refused the claims.
Iran has rejected Saudi accusations, “The Saudis have directly blamed the Iranians for previous missile launches, so I expect MBS will bring this up with his U.S. counterparts,” Graham Griffiths, senior analyst at Control Risks Middle East, said in reply to emailed questions.”It reinforces Saudi claims that measures against Iran need to go beyond a focus on the nuclear issue and address Tehran’s ballistic missile program and support for armed groups throughout the region.”
Read More: Saudi capital faces Yemen missile attack, at least one dead
Washington has armed the kingdom in its intercession in the Yemen conflict, which has created a humanitarian catastrophe with thousands of civilian deaths, disease, hunger and displacement.
Retired Saudi General Anwar Eshki said the attacks were an attempt to “test Saudi readiness” to deal with a large barrage and to signal the U.S. that it “will use missiles to target its interests in the region.”
While Saudi Arabia’s allies have been able to recover areas in southern Yemen from the Houthis, the rebels still control the capital Sana’a and territories in the north.
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