Houthi forces claimed Thursday to have carried out six attacks across Saudi Arabia, stretching from the kingdom's east and west coasts to Riyadh and the south.1
Houthi military spokesman Yahya Saree said the targets were vital commercial and military infrastructure, days after senior officials from Saudi Arabia, Iran, Turkiye and Pakistan met in Tehran and said they would resolve regional differences through dialogue.1
In a statement posted on X, Saree said the Houthis targeted the Ras Tanura oil refinery with a ballistic missile, an Aramco facility in Abqaiq with a missile, King Khalid International Airport in Riyadh with multiple missiles, King Fahd International Airport in Dammam with a drone, the Rabigh oil refinery with a ballistic missile and a Saudi military headquarters in the Najran region.1
There was no independent corroboration of the group’s claims.1
The announcement came after the Saudi-led coalition said its air defenses intercepted and destroyed two ballistic missiles fired by the Houthis toward the capital, according to coalition spokesman Turki al-Maliki. Warning alerts about incoming potential threats had been issued in Riyadh and al-Kharj governorates and in Najran city before those interceptions were announced.1
Saudi Arabia's Civil Defence said shrapnel from the interception wounded one Saudi citizen in Riyadh. Shrapnel also damaged a house and a vehicle, the agency's spokesperson told the state-run news agency.1
The claims underscored continued missile and drone fire at the kingdom and at Saudi-backed forces inside Yemen, despite positive statements from the Tehran meeting. That meeting, hosted by Iran's security chief Mohsen Rezaei and attended by Saudi Defence Minister Khalid bin Salman, Pakistan's army chief Asim Munir and Turkish intelligence chief Ibrahim Kalin, focused on "peace and security in the region," according to an official Iranian press release carried by the Fars news agency.1
Saudi Arabia, Turkiye and Pakistan all sent high-level representatives to the talks, which concluded Monday. Afterward, "participants agreed to continue discussions to strengthen cooperation between the four regional countries," the Iranian press release said.1
For its part, the Saudi foreign ministry stressed "the importance of opening channels of negotiation to prevent a return to military escalation" following the meeting. The diplomacy had been aimed at calming regional tensions that have inflamed the cross-border fighting between Houthi forces and Saudi Arabia.1
Separately on Thursday, the internationally recognized Yemeni government issued a statement that called on the U.N. Security Council to take "deterrent and punitive measures" to stop Houthi attacks on Aden International Airport.1
The coalition's account addressed two ballistic missiles directed toward the capital, while Saree's account listed six separate targets across the country using missiles and at least one drone.1
Further discussion among the four countries that met in Tehran was expected to continue, according to the Iranian statement.1
