Riyadh: Saudi Arabia’s defence forces have intercepted and destroyed four drones targeting various parts of the country, including the capital Riyadh, the Eastern Province and the southern region. Reports also indicate that the Saudi-led coalition destroyed two ballistic missile launch sites belonging to Houthi rebels in Yemen’s Saada Governorate. The Yemeni military said it had carried out 1,417 attacks targeting the Houthis over the past 24 hours.
Last week, a major attack targeting Riyadh International Airport reportedly killed 13 people. Security threats at sea have also intensified. An unidentified missile struck northeast of Al Jubail in Saudi Arabia, damaging an oil tanker. Meanwhile, Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps said two oil tankers caught fire after hitting mines in the Strait of Hormuz. Meanwhile, Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said at an Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) meeting in Baghdad that Tehran would support negotiations aimed at resolving the dispute between Saudi Arabia and the Houthis.
Air services to Saudi Arabia have reportedly been suspended globally amid the escalating conflict. Amid rising global fuel prices linked to the war, the United States has also begun taking steps to release an additional 17 million barrels of crude oil from its Strategic Petroleum Reserve. Since the start of the US-Iran conflict, the US has released a total of 132.5 million barrels of oil into the market, according to the report.
