US military says strikes in the first 24 hours was nearly double the scale of the 2003 ‘shock-and-awe’ operation in Iraq; US president orders insurance to be provided for shipping in crucial waterway

• Trump administration has still not settled on reasons for war

• Middle East attacks intensify as Trump rejects Iran’s attempt to talk

The Saudi defence ministry said two cruise missiles were intercepted Wednesday over an area south of the capital Riyadh, and state media reported a separate drone attack was thwarted.

“Two cruise missiles were intercepted and destroyed in Al-Kharj” district, a defence ministry statement said. The official Saudi Press Agency cited a ministry spokesman as saying “nine drones were intercepted and destroyed immediately upon entering the Kingdom’s airspace”. The statements did not say who may be behind the attacks.