Saudi Coalition Intercepts Houthi Missile Aimed at Riyadh

Saudi-led forces intercepted a Houthi ballistic missile aimed at Riyadh on Wednesday as the Yemeni group vowed to keep attacking Saudi airports and oil facilities. The exchange followed deadly strikes on the Saudi capital’s airport and coalition air attacks on sites in Yemen.

Coalition spokesman Turki al-Maliki said the missile was destroyed. Residents reported hearing explosions in Riyadh, while Saudi Civil Defence issued alerts for the capital and nearby Al-Kharj governorate before saying the danger had passed.

In a televised statement, Houthi military spokesman Brig. Gen. Yahya Saree said attacks on Saudi airports and oil infrastructure would continue in response to what he called “the treacherous Saudi aggression against the capital Sanaa and the free governorates.” He urged civilians, employees and international shipping companies to leave facilities the group was targeting, warning that they would be considered legitimate targets.

The Houthis said they targeted Saudi oil company Aramco’s facilities in Dhahran, a refinery in Riyadh and King Khalid International Airport, according to Al Jazeera. Saudi Arabia’s Energy Ministry said an Aramco administrative building in Dhahran was hit Tuesday and a limited fire broke out, with no injuries reported.

Houthi attacks on King Khalid International Airport over the weekend killed 14 people and wounded more than 300, Al Jazeera reported. The outlet also reported that two people were killed in an attack on Abha International Airport. On Tuesday, debris from two intercepted Houthi missiles fell on residential areas of Riyadh, injuring four people and damaging 15 homes, Saudi Civil Defence said.

The Saudi-led coalition said it struck oil sites in Sanaa and the western Yemeni provinces of Dhamar and Saada on Tuesday. Al-Maliki said the facilities supplied the Houthis’ war effort and were used to threaten Saudi Arabia, Yemen and waterways near the southern Red Sea. Houthi-affiliated Al-Masirah television reported four airstrikes in Yemen’s Marib governorate Wednesday; their effects were not immediately clear, according to Al Jazeera.

The fighting between the Houthis and Saudi-backed Yemeni government forces intensified last month, breaking a United Nations-brokered ceasefire that had largely held since 2022, Al Jazeera reported. Saudi-backed forces have launched a counteroffensive to retake Houthi-held coastal territory near the Bab al-Mandeb strait, the outlet said.

The escalation comes as President Donald Trump considers joining attacks on the Houthis, according to CBS News. The Houthis have threatened to target U.S. personnel and interests across the Middle East if he orders strikes.

In a separate maritime development, Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps said Wednesday that a cargo ship carrying 2,500 containers caught fire and sank after hitting a naval mine in the Strait of Hormuz. Iranian state television quoted the force as saying the ship had taken a route Iran considers illegal and dangerous. There were few details about the crew, and the reported sinking could not immediately be verified, CBS News reported.