Houthis claim new missile strike on Riyadh Airport, Iran offers mediation

Sanaa: Yemen’s Houthi group has claimed another missile attack on King Khalid International Airport in Riyadh, even as Iran offered to help initiate dialogue between the group and Saudi Arabia amid escalating hostilities.

Houthi military spokesperson Yahya Sarea said on Monday that the group had fired a ballistic missile at the airport and launched a drone strike on King Khalid Air Base in Khamis Mushait. However, the Saudi-led coalition said its forces had intercepted and destroyed the missile heading towards Riyadh.

Saudi Arabia’s civil aviation authority reported that a Pakistani resident was killed and 11 others injured in Sunday’s airport attack. A strike on Saturday had left 12 people dead and 309 injured. Airport operations have been suspended, with the restrictions extended on Monday.

Meanwhile, Iran reiterated its willingness to facilitate talks between the warring sides. Foreign Ministry spokesperson Esmaeil Baghaei said Tehran had repeatedly offered its good offices to promote dialogue. Foreign Minister Seyed Abbas Araghchi also conveyed Iran’s readiness to assist in initiating discussions during a phone call with his Saudi counterpart on Sunday.

The renewed fighting has raised regional concerns. Yemen’s conflict began in 2014 when the Houthis seized Sanaa and large parts of the north, prompting a Saudi-led military intervention the following year. A UN-brokered truce in 2022 had largely halted major hostilities.

With IANS inputs