File photo
Attacks on Saudi Arabia are coming closer together, hitting the oil routes that carry its exports and the capital where its business is done.
Air defenses intercepted a ballistic missile and a cruise missile over Riyadh on Tuesday and shot down a second ballistic missile over the south of the country, coalition spokesman Major General Turki Al-Maliki said. He blamed Yemen's Iran-backed Houthis.
Residents received text alerts telling them to take shelter, followed by an all-clear from civil defense. No injuries were reported.
A day after the pipeline
The missiles came a day after the East-West pipeline was attacked near Madinah on Monday. The strike caused a "limited fire" that was put out, and pipeline operations were unaffected, an Energy Ministry official told the Saudi Press Agency.
No group has claimed that attack. The ministry has not given figures for damage or repair costs.
On Sunday, debris from an intercepted missile damaged several floors of Aramco's tower in Riyadh's financial district.
Why it matters
The 1,200 km pipeline is the kingdom's main way around the Strait of Hormuz. It carries about four million barrels a day to the Red Sea port of Yanbu, and drone strikes shut it for several days in September.
Every new hit tests whether Saudi Arabia can keep its oil flowing while the war drags on.
The human cost
Houthi attacks have killed 26 people in Saudi Arabia since September, 23 of them at airports, according to AFP. The group has warned airlines that most Saudi airspace is "unsafe," and flights have resumed only on a limited basis.
The market shrugged
Investors looked past the attacks. The Tadawul All Share Index rose 0.6% on Tuesday to 10,168, its highest close since Oct. 19, helped by falling oil prices and hopes the wider war is winding down.
What to watch
Whether the Houthis keep up near-daily strikes as US-Iran talks continue, and whether airlines extend their limits on Saudi routes.
