Saudi Arabia said it intercepted incoming missiles targeting the kingdom’s capital and other regions on Sunday, with falling debris damaging a building belonging to the state-owned oil giant Aramco in Riyadh’s financial district. Meanwhile, the United Arab Emirates said it rescued 22 crew members after a fire broke out aboard a cargo ship in the Sea of Oman, as risks to commercial shipping in the region remain high. Here is the latest news from the Middle East on Sunday. Read our full coverage here. Aramco building in Riyadh damaged after missile interceptions Witnesses in Riyadh said they heard a loud explosion Sunday morning and described damage across multiple floors of an Aramco building in the King Abdullah Financial District in the Saudi capital. Some floors appeared to be heavily damaged. The witnesses spoke on condition of anonymity because of security concerns. The Saudi-led coalition said its air defenses intercepted two ballistic missiles and two cruise missiles targeting Riyadh and other regions early Sunday, accusing the Iran-backed Houthis of launching the weapons. The Houthis’ military spokesperson, Brig. Gen. Yahya Saree, claimed in a statement Sunday that they had hit Riyadh’s financial district. Saree said the Houthis were responding to Saturday’s attacks on a village near Yemen’s capital, Sanaa, and an attack on a market in southwestern Yemen the previous day, which he said left dozens dead or wounded and blamed on Saudi Arabia. The Saudi Energy Ministry said there were no casualties at the Aramco facility. Also, the Saudi-led coalition said it intercepted a ballistic missile overnight targeting Saudi Arabia’s southern region, which borders Yemen and has repeatedly come under Houthi attacks. -- By Sally Abou AlJoud in Beirut The UAE rescues 22 crew members after a cargo ship fire in the Sea of Oman The UAE National Guard said the crew members -- all of Arab nationalities -- were in stable condition after receiving first aid following a rescue when their cargo ship caught fire in the Sea of Oman. The National Guard did not identify the vessel or specify the cause of the fire. The United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations, a British military organization that monitors maritime security incidents, said Sunday that a tanker caught fire on Saturday about 8 nautical miles northwest of Khasab, Oman, prompting the evacuation of its crew. It was unclear whether it was the same ship whose crew the UAE had helped evacuate. On Saturday, U.S. forces disabled a St. Kitts-flagged cargo ship in the Gulf of Oman, saying it had attempted to breach the U.S. naval blockade of Iran. Separately, the Iranian military said late Saturday that two tankers had struck mines in the area of the strategic Strait of Hormuz, a crucial waterway for global oil shipments, and caught fire. It did not identify the vessels’ flags or destinations. Israel’s president taps Netanyahu’s election rival to form the next government After days of consultations with parties elected to the Israeli parliament on Oct. 27, President Isaac Herzog said late Saturday that he had decided to task Gadi Eisenkot with forming the next government. Herzog’s decision is another blow to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who lost his parliamentary majority in the election. But Herzog’s decision does not guarantee that Eisenkot will be the next prime minister. After an official ceremony on Sunday, Eisenkot will launch complicated negotiations with potential coalition partners. Mixed feelings across crisis-hit Mideast over Israeli political reshuffle Residents in Israel, the Palestinian territories and across the Mideast expressed mixed reactions to Eisenkot’s task to form Israel’s next government, with some hoping for political change and others expecting little shift in Israeli policies. In Jerusalem, some said they wanted a new government to reverse Netanyahu’s judicial overhaul and include an Arab party for only the second time in the country’s history. Palestinians in the battered Gaza Strip and in the occupied West Bank said they felt less optimistic. In neighbouring Lebanon, Rima al-Ghazal said he does not expect an Eisenkot-led government to end the ongoing strikes against Iran-backed Hezbollah militants in southern Lebanon. In Tehran, Iran, resident Ali Soroush said that Israel and the Islamic Republic’s “enmity will more or less continue.” Iran hangs three men convicted in anti-government protests Iran hanged three men Sunday in Karaj who were convicted of armed riot, damage to public properties and cooperation with Israel and the United States during nationwide anti-government protests in January, state TV reported. Iran has hanged more than two dozen people over the similar charges in various cities, prompting an outcry by international rights groups that say political prisoners in Iran are tried in secretive courts without due process. The protests, some of the largest ever held against the Islamic Republic’s government, were largely stamped out when the United States and Israel went to war with Iran on Feb. 28. This report will be updated throughout the day as new developments emerge.
