Saudi Arabia intercepted Iranian missiles targeting two critical sites in the kingdom Sunday afternoon, the King Khalid International Airport and the Prince Sultan Air Base, which houses American military personnel.
King Khalid International Airport © Mena Today
Saudi Arabia intercepted Iranian missiles targeting two critical sites in the kingdom Sunday afternoon, the King Khalid International Airport and the Prince Sultan Air Base, which houses American military personnel, according to a Gulf source familiar with the matter who spoke to AFP.
The attempted strike on Prince Sultan Air Base marks a deliberate Iranian escalation , a direct targeting of US military assets on Saudi soil.
"Air defenses successfully intercepted Iranian missiles near Riyadh airport and Prince Sultan Air Base Sunday afternoon," the source confirmed, speaking on condition of anonymity given the sensitivity of the situation. No disruption to air navigation was reported, and there were no casualties or material damage.
Notably, this marks Saudi Arabia's first official acknowledgment of Iranian missiles targeting its own territory, after the kingdom's conspicuous silence earlier in the weekend when explosions were first reported over Riyadh.
The confirmation removes any remaining doubt: Iran has directly targeted the Saudi capital and American forces stationed there.
The Gulf is now fully engulfed.
By Turki Al Mutairi
Turkey, Saudi Arabia and Pakistan will sign a joint defence agreement on Friday, regional sources with direct knowledge of the matter said, at a time of regional turmoil with Gulf states coming under fire from Iran after it was attacked by the U.S. and Israel.
An Iranian parliamentary committee is reviewing a preliminary bill that would bar U.S., Israeli and other "hostile" vessels from transiting the Strait of Hormuz, Iran's semi-official Fars news agency reported, citing a lawmaker.
With President Donald Trump’s war against Iran now in its sixth month, this week's flurry of threats and diplomacy has underscored the ever-tighter bind he finds himself in as he tries to extricate the U.S. from an unpopular conflict he originally claimed would last just weeks.
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