Saudi Arabia says air defenses intercept Houthi missiles over capital,
and other Mideast news
[October 28, 2026]
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. Late Tuesday evening, the Saudi civil defense
announced alerts in the Jeddah and Yanbu areas of Saudi Arabia.
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.
Candidate for UN chief avoids questions about UAE's support for
Sudan's RSF
The United Arab Emirates minister running to be U.N. chief has avoided
questions about the country’s alleged support for Sudan’s paramilitary.
Lana Nusseibeh called the atrocities committed by the Rapid Support
Forces “atrocious” and told U.N. diplomats at a question-and-answer
session on her candidacy Tuesday that if she becomes secretary-general,
stopping the horrific war in Sudan “would be a number one priority.”
Nusseibeh was asked about her denial when she was the UAE’s U.N.
ambassador of findings by U.N. experts that her country supplied weapons
and support to the RSF, whose fighters perpetrated massacres in el-Fasher
and elsewhere.
The RSF has denied allegations it has committed atrocities.
Nusseibeh replied that to run for secretary-general, she took a leave of
absence as minister of state in the United Arab Emirates Foreign
Ministry, and referred questions about the UAE to its representatives.
Nusseibeh, 48, reiterated several times that she would be an independent
“political risk-taker” committed to the U.N.’s role in bringing the
world’s 193 member nations together to solve global challenges and
trying to resolve some of the world’s worst conflicts and humanitarian
crises through diplomacy and mediation.
If Nusseibeh is recommended by the Security Council and elected by the
General Assembly, she would be the first female secretary-general in the
U.N.’s 81-year history.
“I am not running to be secretary-general because I am a woman, but I do
believe that the next secretary-general should be a woman,” she told
reporters after her session in the General Assembly. “It is high time.”
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.
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An aerial view shows rows of tents sheltering displaced Yemenis at
the Al-Fardous displacement camp in Ras Imran, on the outskirts of
Aden, Yemen, Sunday, Oct. 25, 2026. (AP Photo/Abdulnasser Alseddik)
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.
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