Explosions heard over Riyadh as Saudi authorities say Houthi missiles downed, and other Mideast news

Saudi authorities said they destroyed two ballistic missiles fired by Iran-backed Houthi rebels in neighboring Yemen after explosions were heard over the Saudi capital Riyadh on Tuesday. They said air defenses destroyed another three Houthi ballistic missiles fired toward the country's eastern region.

Meanwhile, the Houthis accused government forces of killing two people in a strike at a gas station near the besieged Yemeni city of Taiz, where fighting has been intensifying between the two sides.

For weeks, the Houthis have largely encircled Taiz — Yemen's third-largest city — and cut off supply routes from government-held areas, but government forces have fought back.

Here is the latest news from the Middle East on Tuesday. Read our full coverage here.

Explosions sound over Saudi Arabian capital after attack warnings issued

At least four explosions were heard over the Saudi capital, Riyadh, according to witnesses Tuesday.

Saudi authorities said they had intercepted and destroyed two ballistic missiles fired by Iran-backed Houthi rebels.

The explosions were heard after Saudi Arabia issued attack warnings for the capital and other areas of the country, which were later lifted without reports of damage.

Authorities also said air defenses intercepted and destroyed three ballistic missiles launched by Houthi rebels toward Saudi Arabia's eastern region.

Houthi military spokesperson Brig. Gen. Yahya Saree claimed Tuesday on X that a rebel ballistic missile scored a direct hit on the headquarters of the Saudi defense ministry in Riyadh.

The Associated Press could not verify those claims. Saudi Civil Defense authorities said on X that shrapnel from the two intercepted missiles had fallen on Riyadh, causing damage to a building, a construction site and a vehicle.

The Houthis also said on social media that they hit the Ras Tanoura refinery in the eastern region with a ballistic missile, but the claim could not be verified and Saudi Arabia issued no comment.

The Houthis say a strike on a gas station killed at least 2

The Houthi-run Health Ministry blamed the Saudi-backed government forces for a strike late Monday on a gas station in Taiz. They said two people were killed and several wounded.

Ministry spokesperson Anees al-Asbahi accused government forces of targeting the gas station. The Yemeni military had said in a post on X that its forces had launched airstrikes targeting Houthi positions.

Houthi-controlled Al-Masirah TV aired footage showing two body bags and the wounded receiving treatment at a hospital.

The TV station also reported that the government launched airstrikes on Tuesday on the Houthi-controlled port city of Mokha and the Dhubab district near the Bab el-Mandeb Strait.

The AP couldn’t independently verify the station's claim.

An eyewitness in Mokha told the AP that she heard two explosions at around 4 a.m., one near the port and the other farther away. She spoke on condition of anonymity fearing reprisals by the Houthis.

— By Fatma Khaled in Cairo

US and Iran clash over UN's nuclear inspection demand

The head of the International Atomic Energy Agency challenged Iran at the start of a U.N. Security Council meeting Tuesday to address issues about its nuclear safeguards program raised more than five years ago.

Rafael Grossi also pushed the Islamic Republic to give the IAEA access to all nuclear sites including those damaged in U.S.-Israeli military attacks in 2025 and 2026.

Iran’s U.N. deputy ambassador Gholamhossein Darzi responded with an attack on the council for its silence after the attacks, and on the U.S. and Israel for their “wars of aggression against Iran.” He kept repeating that its nuclear program is peaceful.

Darzi accused the council of blaming the victim not the aggressor, saying: “Israel possesses nuclear weapons, yet your concern is the absence of inspectors in Iran.” Israel has never confirmed that it possesses nuclear weapons.

U.S. Ambassador Mike Waltz then asked for the floor, calling Iran a “brutal dictatorship" that massacred its own people during protests earlier this year.

“We’ve heard tireless allegations against the United States,” he said. “What we have not heard today is an explanation for Iran’s continued failure to satisfy its safeguard obligations.”

Darzi asked for the floor to respond, accusing the U.S. of “blatant” acts of aggression and war crimes against the Iranian people – but never mentioning Iran’s unanswered nuclear questions or the demand to return IAEA inspectors.

United Arab Emirates holds reception for flight crew that thwarted crash

The president of the United Arab Emirates, Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, held a reception Tuesday for the FlyDubai captain and crew members who thwarted an attempt to crash a flight from Dubai to Israel.

Indian airline captain Smit Machchhar appeared with an elbow brace, alongside his co-pilots and crew members. Machchhar, who is from Mumbai, was seriously injured in the attack on Sept. 30, but managed to open the cockpit door, allowing passengers to enter and restrain the attacker as the Boeing 737 descended sharply.

UAE’s top prosecutor Dr. Hamad Saif Al Shamsi announced on Oct. 9 in a statement that the suspect in the incident was an Omani copilot “with the intention of causing the greatest possible number of human casualties.”

Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, the ruler of Dubai, attended the reception, along with members of the ruling families of Dubai and Abu Dhabi.