The ballistic missile launched from Yemen that targeted the Saudi capital was from Iran, a senior US Air Force official said on Friday.
Lt. Gen. Jeffrey L. Harrigian, who oversees the Air Forces Central Command in Qatar, made the comments at a news conference in Dubai.
The projectile, which was downed near the airport of the Saudi capital bore “Iranian markings,” according to Harrigian, who added that authorities were investigating how the missile was smuggled into Yemen amid a Saudi-led coalition controlling the country’s airspace, ports and borders.
After the Nov. 4 strike near Riyadh, Saudi Arabia’s Foreign Ministry said investigators examining the remains of the rocket found evidence proving “the role of Iranian regime in manufacturing them.” It also said that it found similar evidence after a July 22 missile launch.
French President Emmanuel Macron, in his turn, described the missile as “obviously” Iranian.
Nikki Haley, the US ambassador to the United Nations, said in a statement Tuesday that the July launch involved an Iranian Qiam-1, a liquid-fueled, short-range Scud missile variant. Iran used a Qiam-1 in combat for the first time in June when it targeted ISIS group militants in Syria over twin militant attacks in Tehran.
