SAUDI ARABIA reported one death from missiles fired across the border by Yemen’s Houthi movement on the third anniversary of the Gulf kingdom’s war against its southern neighbour.

Two others were wounded by fragments from the missile, among several shot down over Riyadh by air defence systems.

The victims were reportedly Egyptian nationals. Reports identified the type of missile fired as a Burkan, which arms experts say shares characteristics of the Iranian-built Qiam ballistic missiles.

Saudi Arabia claims the Houthi rebellion that overthrew Yemen’s president Abed Rabbo Mansour Hadi, who its brutal war aims to restore, was sponsored by Iran and that Iran is supplying the movement with weaponry.

Its claim was backed today by Britain-based investigative organisation Conflict Armament Research (CAR), which receives funding from Germany, the EU and the United Arab Emirates, saying that roadside bombs used in Yemen against invading Saudi forces bore similarities to those used by Hezbollah in Lebanon and “insurgents” in Iraq and Bahrain, which it said suggested an Iranian “influence” in their manufacture.

The insurgents referred to were not named. A pro-democracy uprising in Bahrain was crushed by the Saudi military in 2011.

CAR regional operations head Tim Michetti said the report made Iran’s “plausible deniability” over links to the Houthis “not very plausible.”

The death in Riyadh was the first in the Saudi capital as a result of the war, in which Saudi forces armed and equipped by the US and Britain have killed thousands of civilians in raids on hospitals and schools.