Saudi-led coalition intercepts two missiles bound for Riyadh and 3 drones in the east
Key Facts
The Saudi-led coalition said it intercepted two ballistic missiles launched by the Houthis toward Riyadh on November 15, 2026, and three drones in the Eastern Province. Reuters reported that the announcement covered two attack routes in one day: missiles aimed at the capital and drones in a region that holds most of the kingdom's oil and gas reserves. It marked the latest episode in attacks that the report said the Houthis had intensified against Riyadh in recent days. The report gave no tally of damage or casualties from the attacks the coalition said it intercepted that day. It also provided no details on the launch sites or timing of the interceptions.
According to Reuters, Riyadh came under increasing Houthi attacks in the days before the November 15 announcement. The previous week, a Houthi attack damaged an administrative building belonging to Saudi Aramco in Riyadh's financial district. The damage places the capital, alongside the Eastern Province, among the locations affected by the recent escalation. Reuters did not report the extent of the damage to the building or whether the attack disrupted the company's operations. The interception of the two missiles on November 15 came days after that attack, according to the timeline in the report.
Attacks in the Eastern Province carry significance because of the region's place in Saudi Arabia's energy sector: it holds most of the kingdom's oil and gas reserves, according to Reuters, and is home to Aramco's headquarters. The Saudi Foreign Ministry describes the region as holding the kingdom's large oil reserves and says the center of the oil industry is in Dhahran, near Dammam. Reuters said the Eastern Province had come under multiple Houthi attacks in previous weeks, making the interception of the three drones part of a broader pattern of targeting in the region. According to the information cited by the sources, the attacks encompass sites linked to energy reserves and the headquarters of the state-owned oil company. Reuters did not report that the November 15 attack hit an oil facility or damaged energy supplies.
The escalation also extended to multiple Saudi targets, Reuters reported, with the Houthis stepping up strikes on airports, ports and oil facilities. Saudi Arabia, in turn, increased airstrikes on Houthi targets in Yemen in response. The report describes an exchange of attacks between the two sides, without specifying the toll from Saudi airstrikes or the locations they hit in Yemen during the same period. It also gives no overall figure for Houthi attacks on Saudi targets. The November 15 interceptions came amid this mutual escalation, which included the capital, the Eastern Province and other targets, according to Reuters.
On the diplomatic front, the U.N. Security Council kept the arms embargo on the Houthis in force, according to an Associated Press report. The council extended sanctions, including a travel ban and asset freeze, on Houthis listed by the council until November 14, 2027. The report says the United Kingdom drafted the resolution, while the arms embargo remains in place alongside the extension of sanctions. The date sets the stated timeframe for the sanctions as the military escalation covered by Reuters in its November 15 report continues. The AP report gave no details on the resolution's effect on the attacks or on military operations between the Houthis and Saudi Arabia.