Local Editor
Riyadh is warning of a response "in the appropriate time and manner," following a missile strike from neighboring Yemen, which has been enduring a bloody bombardment by a Saudi-led coalition for over two and a half years.
The coalition, which includes a number of Saudi satellite states, announced that Iran was to blame for a Yemeni missile strike that targeted the Riyadh airport on Saturday, claiming that it could be "considered an act of war."
The missile was fired by the Houthi Ansarullah movement, which together with allied Yemeni army factions and tribal fighters has been battling against the Saudi-led coalition. Riyadh and its allies accuse the Houthis of receiving support from Iran. The Islamic Republic rejects the accusations, but is supportive of the Yemeni defensive campaign against the Saudi invasion.
The Saudi-led coalition went further in its Sunday statement, claiming that the Houthis were under Iran’s “direct command.”
“Therefore, 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 reads. “The coalition command also affirms that the kingdom reserves its right to respond to Iran in the appropriate time and manner.”
Ansarullah claimed responsibility for the strike on the King Khalid International Airport near the Saudi capital, saying the Volcano-1 ballistic missile used in the attack, was domestically produced.
In comments on Monday the US President Donald Trump praised the Saudi missile defenses, saying they “took the missile right out of the air. Blew it up.”
Trump also told Saudi Arabia’s King Salman in a phone call on Saturday he would support the purchase of American military equipment to keep Saudi Arabia safe. Trump and Salman discussed the “continuing threat of Iranian-backed Houthi militias in Yemen” and the intercepted missile attack, according to a readout provided by the White House.
Source: News Agencies, Edited by Website Team
