RIYADH: Saudi Arabia said on Saturday that it had intercepted four drones, including over the capital Riyadh, as the country comes under repeated fire from Yemen’s Houthis.
Riyadh leads a military coalition supporting Yemen’s internationally recognised government in its civil war with the Houthis.
Since the conflict flared back to life in July after a years-long hiatus, the kingdom has faced sustained Houthi missile and drone attacks targeting its oil installations, tankers and airports.
“We have intercepted and destroyed four drones over the past few hours in the regions of Riyadh, the Eastern Province, and the South,” coalition spokesman Turki al-Malki wrote on X.
Saudi Arabia has accused Iran of encouraging the Houthis’ recent escalation, a charge Tehran denies.
Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said Saturday that Tehran supported a “comprehensive political process as the only practical and sustainable way to resolve” the conflict on the Arabian Peninsula.
He also repeated Iran’s offer to mediate between the two sides. Deputy Foreign Minister Saeed Khatibzadeh previously said Riyadh has not responded to Iran’s overture.
The Houthis are part of Iran’s “Axis of Resistance” against Israel and the United States, but both they and Tehran insist the group acts independently.
Saudi Arabia has carried out retaliatory airstrikes on the Houthis in Yemen, where government forces are seeking to roll back gains the group made in a lightning offensive in September.
On Saturday, a Houthi-affiliated news agency accused Saudi warplanes of targeting “civilian residences” in Dhamar and Taiz provinces, killing 12 people.
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