Daijiworld Media Network - Riyadh
Riyadh, Oct 13: The Saudi-led coalition in Yemen said on Tuesday that it would soon issue a warning for civilians to evacuate a site in the Houthi-controlled capital Sanaa ahead of a “special operation”.
Coalition spokesman Turki Al-Maliki announced on social media platform X that the warning would be issued shortly but did not disclose the location of the site or provide details about the planned operation.
The announcement came as the coalition said it had intercepted and destroyed three drones north of the Saudi capital Riyadh, Xinhua News Agency reported.
Yemen’s Houthi group said on Monday evening that it had launched a ballistic missile strike targeting King Khalid International Airport in Riyadh. Houthi military spokesman Yahya Saree claimed in a statement that the missile had “accurately hit” the target.
Saree also said the group had launched a drone attack on King Khalid Air Base in Khamis Mushait in southwestern Saudi Arabia, claiming that the drone had scored a direct hit.
However, the Saudi-led coalition said its forces had intercepted and destroyed a Houthi ballistic missile fired towards Riyadh on Monday evening.
Explosions were heard in the Saudi capital around the time of the reported attack, while residents received alerts through mobile applications.
The latest developments have raised regional and international concerns over the escalating tensions.
Amid the situation, Iran reiterated its willingness to facilitate dialogue between Saudi Arabia and the Houthis. At a weekly press conference on Monday, Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Esmaeil Baghaei said Tehran had “repeatedly expressed readiness to use our good offices to facilitate dialogue between the (warring) parties”.
His remarks followed a telephone conversation on Sunday between Iranian Foreign Minister Seyed Abbas Araghchi and his Saudi counterpart, Prince Faisal bin Farhan bin Abdullah Al Saud.
During the conversation, Araghchi expressed Iran’s readiness to provide “any kind of assistance” to help initiate dialogue between Saudi Arabia and the Houthis.