JEDDAH: Iran-backed Houthi militias in Yemen fired another ballistic missile at Riyadh on Tuesday, this time targeting Al-Yamamah Royal Palace in the Saudi capital.
“The missile was intercepted by Saudi Patriot defense systems south of Riyadh, causing the debris to scatter,” the Saudi-led Arab Coalition for the support of the legitimate Yemeni government said. Coalition spokesperson Col. Turki Al-Maliki said no one was injured, and no property was damaged.
The Houthis launched a missile at Riyadh on Nov. 4, targeting King Khalid International Airport. Royal Saudi Air Defense forces intercepted the missile and shot it down, and there was no damage.
A UN Security Council-appointed panel confirmed the missile was manufactured in Iran, along with three other missiles fired from Yemen toward the Kingdom this year.
On Thursday, the US Ambassador to the UN, Nikki Haley, said the US had “concrete proof” that Iran was providing the Houthis in Yemen with ballistic missiles in direct violation of the international arms embargo on Yemen and the weapons export ban on Iran.
“This aggressive and outrageous act by the Houthi militias is further proof of the involvement of the Iranian regime in supporting and supplying this terrorist group with weapons, which constitutes a clear challenge to and violation of UN Security Council Resolutions 2216 and 2231, posing a threat to the security of the Kingdom as well as the region and the wider world,” Al-Maliki said after Tuesday’s attack.
Targeting residential areas with missiles was a violation of international law, he said. He called on the international community to take active measures to curb Iran’s supply of arms to “terrorists and outlaws” in the region and to hold the Iranian regime accountable for its behavior.
