Saudi foreign minister arrives in Washington for talks with Rubio

Saudi Foreign Minister Prince Faisal bin Farhan arrived in Washington on Monday for talks with US Secretary of State Marco Rubio, the Saudi state news agency said, amid escalating hostilities between Riyadh and Yemen's Houthis.

The two will discuss bilateral ties and key regional and international developments, the agency added.

Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman sought US military help this month against the Iran-backed Houthis, but Washington declined to launch strikes, though it agreed to supply intelligence and targeting support, sources had told Reuters.

Farhan's visit to the US comes after Yemen's Saudi-led coalition intercepted two ballistic missiles and two drones launched by the Houthis towards the kingdom, the coalition said.

Missiles fired towards Khamis Mushait, drones toward Riyadh

It added in posts on X/Twitter that the missiles were headed towards Khamis Mushait and the drones towards the capital, Riyadh, adding that it was monitoring the missile threat and drones launched at the kingdom, without providing further details.

Saudi Civil Defense had sent alerts overnight for Khamis Mushait and Abha but not for Riyadh.