Saudi coalition downs Houthi missiles as Tehran talks open
Three ballistic missiles and four drones targeted Saudi oil country as Riyadh's defence minister sat down with Iran in Tehran — and oil markets are watching.
Riyadh — The Saudi-led coalition fighting in Yemen says it shot down three ballistic missiles and four drones launched by the Houthis towards the kingdom, in an attack timed awkwardly against a diplomatic push to stop the region sliding back into full war.
Coalition spokesman Major-General Turki al-Maliki said the missiles were aimed at the Eastern Province — the heart of the kingdom's oil industry — and caused no casualties. The drones, he added, were heading for southern regions. Saudi Arabia's Civil Defence agency issued emergency alerts in the Eastern Province and the Al Kharj governorate before lifting them, urging residents to avoid crowds and refrain from filming, Al Jazeera reported. There was no immediate comment from the Houthis.
The stakes here are priced in barrels. The Houthis have struck Saudi airports, ports and oil facilities, and the wider war has already squeezed shipping through the Strait of Hormuz, pushing up oil and petrol prices. An attack on King Khalid International airport in Riyadh this month killed at least 13 people and wounded more than 300 — the deadliest strike on the kingdom in more than a decade.
The barrage landed just as senior officials from Saudi Arabia, Turkiye and Pakistan met their Iranian counterparts in Tehran, seeking to cool a conflict that began when the United States and Israel attacked Iran in February. Riyadh sent its defence minister, Prince Khalid bin Salman, and said the visit aimed to open channels to prevent a return to military escalation. In a joint statement, the four countries "agreed to continue the dialogue to strengthen cooperation amongst the four regional countries, including for peace and security in the region", according to Iranian state media.
Pakistan and Qatar have led mediation between Washington and Tehran, producing an interim deal in June — but fighting resumed, and Yemen opened a new front. The Houthis seized strategic Red Sea coast areas from Saudi-backed forces last month, prompting a Saudi counteroffensive and deeper strikes. Egypt's parliament voted on Monday to authorise military support for the kingdom.
The coalition said it also destroyed three more drones on Monday evening and hit back with strikes on five Houthi missile-storage tunnels, four launchers and a depot. Markets now await the next round of Tehran talks — and the next tanker transit data through Hormuz — for signs of whether the escalation is slowing.
Sources
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