Saudi Arabia intercepts missiles targeting Riyadh; Aramco building damaged

• Saudi air defences intercept missiles targeting Riyadh and other regions; debris damages an Aramco building.

• The UAE rescues 22 crew members after a cargo ship catches fire in the Sea of Oman.

• Israel's President Isaac Herzog appoints Gadi Eisenkot to form the next government, dealing a setback to Benjamin Netanyahu.

Saudi Arabia intercepted several missiles targeting Riyadh and other parts of the kingdom on Sunday, with falling debris causing damage to a building belonging to state-owned oil giant Saudi Aramco in the capital's financial district.

No casualties were reported. Yemen's Iran-backed Houthi rebels, who have claimed similar attacks in the past, had not immediately claimed responsibility.

Witnesses in Riyadh reported hearing a loud explosion on Sunday morning and described damage across multiple floors of the Aramco building in the King Abdullah Financial District. Some floors appeared heavily damaged, while others had broken exterior glass.

The Saudi-led coalition said its air defences intercepted two ballistic missiles and two cruise missiles targeting Riyadh and other regions early on Sunday. It accused the Houthis of launching the ballistic missiles.

Saudi Arabia's energy ministry said falling shrapnel had caused “minor damage to the building”, adding that there were no casualties.

The coalition also said it had intercepted a ballistic missile overnight targeting the kingdom's southern region, which borders Yemen and has repeatedly faced Houthi attacks.

The latest developments followed Saudi air strikes on Saturday near Sanaa, Yemen's capital, which is controlled by the Houthis. Houthi officials said the strikes killed at least 27 people.

UAE rescues 22 crew members after cargo ship fire

Meanwhile, the United Arab Emirates said it had rescued 22 crew members after a fire broke out aboard a cargo ship in the Sea of Oman, amid heightened risks to commercial shipping in the region.

The UAE National Guard said all the crew members, who were of Arab nationalities, were in stable condition after receiving first aid. It did not identify the vessel or specify the cause of the fire.

The United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations (UKMTO), a British military organisation monitoring maritime security incidents, said a tanker caught fire on Saturday about eight nautical miles northwest of Khasab, Oman, prompting the evacuation of its crew.

The UKMTO did not identify the vessel or say whether it had been targeted. It was unclear whether the tanker was the same ship whose crew were rescued by the UAE.

The incident comes amid growing risks to commercial shipping in the region. On Saturday, US forces disabled a St Kitts-flagged cargo ship in the Gulf of Oman, saying it had attempted to breach the US naval blockade of Iran. The blockade has been enforced in and around the Strait of Hormuz, a crucial route for global oil shipments.

Separately, the Iranian military said late Saturday that two tankers had struck mines in the Strait of Hormuz area and caught fire. It did not identify the vessels' flags or destinations.

Eisenkot tasked with forming next Israeli government

In Israel, President Isaac Herzog on Saturday designated former military chief Gadi Eisenkot, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's main electoral rival, to form the next government.

Herzog's decision followed consultations with parties elected to the Knesset in the 27 October election, which produced no clear majority and left Netanyahu without his parliamentary majority.

The appointment is another setback for Netanyahu, but does not guarantee that Eisenkot will become prime minister.

Following an official ceremony on Sunday, Eisenkot is expected to begin negotiations with potential coalition partners. He has up to six weeks to put together a governing coalition in a deeply divided country still grappling with the aftermath of the Hamas-led attack on 7 October 2023 and the wars that followed in Gaza and elsewhere in the region.