Mohammed bin Salman

Saudi forces intercept two missiles fired towards Riyadh, hours after reporting damage to key East-West pipeline.

The Saudi Arabia-led coalition fighting Yemen’s Houthis has announced it intercepted two missiles fired towards the kingdom’s capital, Riyadh, and another aimed at its southern region.

Major-General Turki al-Maliki, a spokesperson for the coalition, blamed the Iran-backed Houthis for Tuesday’s attacks.

In a series of posts on X, he said a ballistic missile and a cruise missile were intercepted and destroyed over Riyadh, while a second ballistic missile was downed over the southern part of the country.

Multiple explosions were heard in Riyadh, according to the AFP news agency, and residents received text-message alerts instructing them to take shelter due to an “aerial threat”.

A subsequent message from the country’s civil defence agency said the danger had passed.

There was no immediate comment from the Houthis.

The strikes were the latest in a series of attacks on Saudi Arabia as fighting rages in Yemen between the Houthis and the country’s internationally recognised government, backed by Riyadh.

The coalition has supported a Yemeni government offensive to retake territory with air strikes, while the Houthis have repeatedly struck Saudi oil infrastructure, including refineries and storage facilities, with drones and missiles.

On Monday, the East-West oil pipeline in the Medina region was attacked again. A Saudi Energy Ministry official told the state-run SPA news agency the strike caused a “limited fire” that was extinguished. The official said that “pipeline operations were unaffected”.

No injuries or deaths were reported.

The pipeline is a vital route for Saudi oil exports due to Tehran’s restrictions in the Strait of Hormuz following the US-Israel war against Iran. The pipeline has come under attack several times as the war on Iran fuels a global energy crisis.

On Sunday, the Houthis also said they attacked Riyadh’s business district.

Saudi officials said falling debris from an “attempted attack” had caused minor damage to the Aramco Tower.

Images released by the SPA showed the deputy governor of the Riyadh region and other officials inspecting the building, with damage visible on several floors.

Egyptian president pledges ‘any measure’ to help defend Saudi Arabia ‘if it is requested of us’.

Egypt’s President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi has called for an emergency parliamentary session to authorise him to approve any requests from Saudi Arabia for defence assistance, if Riyadh were to ask.

Speaking at a graduation ceremony at the Egyptian Military Academy on Saturday, el-Sisi emphasised Cairo’s readiness to back the kingdom.

Egypt will “carry out any measure to protect” Saudi Arabia “in accordance with the directives of His Majesty King Salman and the directives of the Crown Prince, Mohammed bin Salman”, he said.

“I know that this matter requires the approval of the Egyptian parliament, and I hope that parliament will convene in an emergency session to give us this authorisation, if it is requested of us,” he said.

“I am not speaking in order for us to fight anyone or attack anyone. I am speaking only for defence.”

Attacks on Saudi Arabia

The request follows a barrage of attacks on the kingdom from Yemen’s Iran-backed Houthis, including airports and oil facilities.

Recent Houthi strikes on Saudi Arabia have mainly targeted key infrastructure on the outskirts of the capital, Riyadh, but they appear to be edging closer to the city centre.

Houthi attacks on Riyadh’s King Khalid International Airport earlier this month killed 14 people and wounded more than 300. Houthi attacks have also been reported on other airports, including Dammam, Abha, Jazan and Najran.

Yemen’s Saudi-backed, internationally recognised government launched a full-scale military campaign against the Houthis this month to recapture territory seized by them.

El-Sisi had backed Saudi calls for secure and unhindered navigation in the Red Sea in a meeting with the Saudi Crown Prince, known as MBS, in Cairo last month.

A statement from the Egyptian presidency then said that “the security of Saudi Arabia and the Gulf states is an integral part of Egypt’s national security”.

Red Sea security

That meeting came just days after the Houthis seized Yemen’s Red Sea coast, gaining significant control over the Bab al-Mandeb strait, the southern gateway to the Suez Canal.

Saudi Arabia already has a defence pact with Pakistan and Turkiye, known as the Mecca Alliance for Defence, which was signed in August.

Earlier this month, the three countries agreed to activate “deterrence measures” under the pact and rapidly deploy forces to the Gulf kingdom to counter attacks by Yemen’s Houthis.

Analysts say Riyadh is looking for help to protect the kingdom and Red Sea shipping and that Egypt, whose Suez Canal revenue depends on the same traffic, is an obvious partner.

They say Egypt is eager to prevent Iran and its allies from imposing control over the region, especially over maritime traffic in the Red Sea, given the direct repercussions for the Suez Canal.

Saudi Arabia has accused Iran of encouraging Houthi attacks against the kingdom, a claim Tehran rejects. Iran has offered assistance to halt the conflict between the two sides.