Saudi intercepts Yemen rebel missile over Riyadh

Saudi Arabia intercepted a ballistic missile fired by Yemen’s Houthi rebels over its capital city on Tuesday, the second such incident in two months and another potential flashpoint in the volatile Saudi-Iranian relationship.

A spokesman for the Saudi-led military coalition fighting the Houthis in Yemen said the Yemen was intercepted south of Riyadh and caused no casualties. Col. Turki Al-Malki pointed to Iran’s alleged role in supplying missiles to the rebel group, which he called a clear violation of United Nations resolutions.

“This aggressive and arbitrary act by the armed Houthi Iranian group proves the continued involvement of the Iranian regime in supporting the Houthis...with the aim of threatening the security of the Kingdom,” Mr. Al-Malki said in a statement.

An Iranian U.N. official didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment.

The Houthis’ rocket force claimed it fired a “Volcano H2” missile at Riyadh, targeting a meeting of Saudi leaders at the Al-Yamamah royal palace, according to the Houthis’ official Saba news agency.

It was the same type of missile the Houthis said they fired at Riyadh’s airport on Nov. 4, sparking international condemnation, as Saudi Arabia and the U.S. pinned blame on Iran for supplying the munition. Iran has denied any involvement.

The blast caused by the missile’s interception could be heard across the capital. Videos and photos posted to social media showed a small puff of white smoke in the sky, apparently at the point of interception.

Tuesday’s missile may further strain the relationship between Iran and Saudi Arabia, the two main rivals for power and influence in the Middle East. Saudi Arabia views the Houthis, a Shiite movement that controls the Yemeni capital San’a, as proxies of Iran. Iran denies arming the Houthis.

The competition for regional dominance is expected to pick up pace as Islamic State extremists near defeat in Iraq and Syria, and as Iran seeks to secure supply routes across those countries into Lebanon, where its proxy Hezbollah is based. Saudi foreign policy has taken a bold, confrontational pivot in the past three years, corresponding with the rise of its brash 32-year-old Crown Prince, Mohammed bin Salman.

The Yemen war has been a signature of that shift, as has been Saudi Arabia’s decision to cut commercial and diplomatic ties with Iran last year and with Qatar this summer. Saudi Arabia and its allies have accused Qatar of supporting terrorism and allying with Iran. Doha denies it supports terrorism.

The war across Saudi Arabia’s southern border in Yemen pits the Saudi-led coalition against the Houthis, who took over the capital in late 2014. The coalition is trying to restore the internationally backed president, Abed Rabbo Mansour Hadi.

Yet despite more than 2½ years of airstrikes and a ground campaign, the Houthis remain in control of the capital, as the country’s dire humanitarian crisis deepens. Many of Yemen’s provinces are on the brink of famine, while an unprecedented cholera epidemic is rapidly approaching a million suspected cases, according to the World Health Organization.

The Houthis have fired dozens of ballistic missiles into Saudi territory during the conflict, but those used in recent months have flown further than in the past, even if they haven’t caused significant damage. In July, the coalition said it shot down a Houthi missile about 43 miles from Mecca, Islam’s holiest city.

The U.S. has backed Saudi Arabia’s allegation that Iran is supplying the Houthis with advanced ballistic missiles in violation of U.N. arms restrictions, accusing Iran of destabilizing the region using its proxies and weapons.

Nikki Haley, the U.S. ambassador to the U.N., put pieces of the missile shot down on Nov. 4 on display last week as part of a collection of arms she said demonstrated Iran’s regional influence.

U.N. experts, however, said in a report that the Iranian origins of the missile were inconclusive. Iranian officials dismissed the demonstration as baseless, saying it didn’t prove Iranian involvement.

In Washington on Tuesday, a Defense Department spokesman said the U.S. was aware of reports of the missile attack and about the Houthis taking responsibility.

“We are working closely with our Saudi partners to fully understand what took place and to ensure that our Saudi partners have the resources they need to defend their territory against indiscriminate attacks against civilian-inhabited areas,” said the spokesman, Marine Maj. Adrian J.T. Rankine-Galloway.

Source: AFP