RIYADH – Thirteen civilians were injured after Houthi forces launched multiple ballistic missile and drone attacks against Saudi Arabia, according to the Saudi-led military coalition.
Coalition spokesperson Major General Turki al-Malki said the attacks on Monday targeted civilian facilities in the cities of Khamis Mushait, Abha and Taif.
He said 13 people sustained minor to moderate injuries, while seven homes and two vehicles were damaged in the attacks.
In a statement posted on X, al-Malki described the attacks as deliberate and repeated, saying they reflected what he called the Houthi militia’s approach and extremist ideology, including efforts to escalate tensions and target civilians and civilian infrastructure.
He said the coalition’s joint command would take responsible and firm action to protect Saudi Arabia’s sovereignty, civilian facilities and residents from what he described as serious attacks.
According to al-Malki, any response would be carried out in accordance with international law and the right to self-defence under the UN Charter.
The latest attacks came a day after Yemen’s Houthis claimed they had targeted Saudi Arabia’s King Khalid Air Base with ballistic missiles.
A Houthi spokesperson said that attack was carried out in response to more than 300 Saudi airstrikes on various provinces in Yemen over the previous five days.
US-Iran talks remain uncertain
The latest escalation came as uncertainty continued over possible negotiations between the United States and Iran.
US President Donald Trump said Monday that he was willing to negotiate with Iran, after previously maintaining for weeks that it was too early to reach a deal with Tehran to end the Middle East war.
Trump said in a post on his Truth Social network that Iran wanted to reach a deal quickly and that Washington was open to engaging, while adding that he would decide whether the United States would proceed with talks.
Iranian officials, however, signalled that Tehran was not prepared to enter negotiations under the current circumstances.
Mohsen Rezaee, Iran’s Secretary of the Supreme National Security Council, said in a post on X that the conflicting messages from the US president should not distract from what he described as changing circumstances surrounding oil and the straits.
Rezaee said Iran would not hold talks until its conditions were met, ending his message with a categorical rejection of negotiations under the present terms.
