The Saudi-led coalition battling Yemen’s Houthis said on Saturday that its forces intercepted two drones fired by the Iran-backed group, which were headed for the capital Riyadh.

“Air defences intercepted and destroyed two drones launched by the terrorist Houthi militia towards the Riyadh area,” the coalition spokesman said on X.

The Houthis have imposed a naval blockade on Saudi Arabia, hitting its tankers, seizing swathes of Yemen’s Red Sea coast vital for oil exports and causing energy prices to jump, while also raining missiles on the kingdom.

The coalition spokesman said separately on Saturday that Saudi air defences intercepted and destroyed a Houthi-launched ballistic missile targeting Khamis Mushait, a city in the country’s southwest that is home to an air base.

Hezam Alasad, a member of the Houthi Political Bureau, said on Saturday that “Despite the operation’s strength, scope, and impact, our armed forces view it as merely a small-scale rehearsal for a full-scale escalation.”