Iran-backed Houthi forces have claimed responsibility for six attacks targeting key airports and petroleum facilities across Saudi Arabia, despite recent high-level diplomatic talks in Tehran where Saudi and Iranian officials pledged to resolve regional disputes through dialogue.
Despite the participation of senior delegations from Saudi Arabia, Turkiye and Pakistan in the discussions, Houthi forces have continued to launch drone and missile strikes against the kingdom and Saudi-backed troops in Yemen, repots Al Jazeera.
In a statement posted on X, Houthi military spokesperson Yahya Saree said the attacks targeted key commercial and military installations along Saudi Arabia’s eastern and western coasts, in Riyadh and in the southern Najran region.
According to Saree, the group fired a ballistic missile at the Ras Tanura oil refinery, another missile at an Aramco facility in Abqaiq, and multiple ballistic missiles at King Khalid International Airport in Riyadh. It also launched a drone at King Fahd International Airport in Dammam, fired a ballistic missile at the Rabigh oil refinery and targeted a Saudi military headquarters in the Najran region.
The claims have not been independently verified.
The latest military actions came despite diplomatic efforts earlier in the week to ease escalating regional tensions, particularly cross-border hostilities between Saudi Arabia and Houthi forces.
On Monday, senior officials from Iran and the defence alliance members Turkiye, Saudi Arabia and Pakistan concluded talks in Tehran, agreeing to maintain dialogue to promote regional cooperation among the four countries, according to an official Iranian statement carried by the Fars news agency.
The meeting was hosted by Iranian security chief Mohsen Rezaei and attended by Saudi Defence Minister Khalid bin Salman, Pakistani army chief Asim Munir and Turkish intelligence chief Ibrahim Kalin. Discussions focused primarily on “peace and security in the region”.
Following the talks, the Saudi Foreign Ministry stressed “the importance of opening channels of negotiation to prevent a return to military escalation”.
Saree’s announcement on Thursday coincided with a statement from the Saudi-led coalition confirming that its air defence forces had intercepted and destroyed two Houthi ballistic missiles aimed at Riyadh, according to coalition spokesperson Turki al-Maliki.
A spokesperson for Saudi Arabia’s Civil Defence told state news media that falling shrapnel from the interceptions injured a Saudi national in Riyadh and damaged a residential building and a vehicle.
Warning alerts about potential incoming threats had been activated across Najran city and the governorates of Riyadh and al-Kharj before the interceptions.
Earlier on Thursday, Yemen’s internationally recognised government issued a formal statement urging the UN Security Council to enforce “deterrent and punitive measures” to stop Houthi attacks against Aden International Airport.
