Saudi Arabia-led coalition blames Iran for missile launch from Yemen

The coalition led by Saudi Arabia on Sunday accused Iran of supplying Houthi rebels in Iran with the missile that was launched on Saturday, targeting Riyadh, AP reported. The coalition also temporarily closed off land, sea and airports to Yemen.

Saudi Arabia’s defence forces on Saturday evening brought down a ballistic missile near King Khaled International Airport on the outskirts of Riyadh. Fragments of the missile landed near the airport, but there were no casualties.

“The coalition’s command considers this a blatant act of military aggression by the Iranian regime, and could rise to be considered as an act of war against the kingdom of Saudi Arabia,” the statement said, according to AP. “The coalition command also affirms that the kingdom reserves its right to respond to Iran in the appropriate time and manner.”

Meanwhile, Saudi Arabia announced financial rewards for any information that will help arrest the leaders



it believes were responsible for planning and supporting Houthi rebels to carry out attacks.

The Houthi rebels in Yemen on Saturday had said that that they had launched the missile. “The capital cities of countries that continually shell us, targeting innocent civilians, will not be spared from our missiles,” a spokesperson told Al Jazeera.

United States President Donald Trump on Sunday also blamed Iran for launching the missile. “A shot was just taken by Iran, and in my opinion, at Saudi Arabia,” Trump told reporters on Air Force One en route to Tokyo. “And our system knocked it down.”

The Houthis control a large part of Yemen. They have been fighting Yemen’s internationally recognised government, which is backed by the Saudi-led military alliance.

The war has killed at least 10,000 people and displaced over three million since February 2014, Al Jazeera quoted a United Nations report as saying.