Saudi Led Coalition Intercepts Houthi Drones and Missiles Targeting Riyadh and Khamis Mushait
The Saudi Arabia-led military coalition has successfully intercepted and destroyed two explosive-laden drones targeting the Saudi capital of Riyadh, alongside two ballistic missiles aimed at the southwestern Saudi city of Khamis Mushait, which houses a strategic air base. A coalition spokesperson confirmed that the aerial threats, launched by Yemen's Iran-backed Houthi armed movement, were neutralized by Saudi air defense systems amidst a sharp escalation in regional hostilities.
This latest barrage follows mounting international condemnation, including a strong rebuke from the United Nations Security Council led by France's Permanent Representative to the UN, Jérôme Bonfont, who condemned the sustained Houthi assaults targeting civilian populations and energy infrastructure. The ongoing conflict has severely impacted maritime trade, with the Houthi group imposing an effective naval blockade, seizing vast stretches of Yemen's Red Sea coastline vital for oil exports, and launching persistent attacks on tankers that have driven up global fuel prices.
In response to the intensifying security threat, allied nations have rallied to bolster Saudi Arabia's defenses. Army chiefs from Saudi Arabia, Turkey, and Pakistan are set to convene for an emergency meeting under the framework of the Mecca Defense Treaty—which stipulates that an attack on one signatory is considered an attack on all—to formulate coordinated military strategies on the ground. Turkish Army Chief General Selcuk Bayraktaroglu has already traveled to Saudi Arabia for operational discussions, although Ankara's military assistance remains temporarily limited to bilateral and technical support pending the treaty's formal ratification by the Turkish parliament.
Concurrently, French President Emmanuel Macron announced during a televised address that France will deploy military personnel, radar systems, and advanced air defense units to safeguard Saudi Arabia's critical oil port of Yanbu along the Red Sea coast, emphasizing that the deployment is intended strictly for defensive security rather than direct combat involvement. Meanwhile, the renewed fighting has shattered a multi-year truce, displacing 138,000 people across Yemen since August—including 70,000 children—and sparking grave warnings from humanitarian agencies over a deepening crisis driven by escalating ground operations.
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