RIYADH(National Times)- Saudi Arabia vowed a “serious” response after Houthi strikes turned Riyadh’s international airport into a target, killing 18 people in under a week and leaving the world’s biggest oil exporter facing its worst security crisis in more than a decade.
“Energy security can’t be taken for granted,” Saudi Energy Minister Prince Abdulaziz bin Salman told an energy conference in Riyadh.
“The events of recent weeks are serious, our response must be equally serious. For Saudi Arabia, these circumstances have tested our infrastructure, our institutions, our people and our resilience.”
The strikes have shaken the world’s biggest oil exporter, which is pursuing an expensive economic reform programme intended to attract foreign investment. Oil prices rose above $105 a barrel on Monday.
Yemen’s civil war, in which a Saudi-led military coalition backs the government against the Houthis, has reignited months into the wider US-Iran conflict, which has roiled energy markets and plunged the Middle East into crisis.
On Saturday, Houthi strikes killed 13 people and wounded more than 300 at King Khalid International Airport, the deadliest attack on Saudi soil in more than a decade.
Four people died in earlier attacks on Wednesday and Thursday, and another was killed on Sunday, when Saudi Arabia’s civil aviation authority said a fresh strike also wounded 11 people.
Riyadh’s airport was not the only one to suffer an attack as authorities said Dammam airport in the east was also struck on Sunday evening.
One person had been killed and 11 wounded in a strike on Dammam airport. The Saudi-led coalition said on Monday it had “intercepted and destroyed” a Houthi ballistic missile heading for Khamis Mushait, a southern city that is home to a major military base.
It also reported responding to drone and missile threats around Riyadh, where residents reported explosions and authorities warned of continuing security risks.
The coalition has called Saturday’s attack a “full-fledged war crime” and vowed to “respond decisively”. Volker Turk, the UN human rights chief, said he was “appalled by the repeated attacks” on Saudi Arabia but urged both sides to back down.
US warned against joining strikes
A Houthi official warned on Monday that the US would face a “swift and painful response” if it entered the war in Yemen. Donald Trump has said he is considering joining Saudi strikes against the group. “If the US becomes involved in the aggression against Yemen, we will not deliberate over the decision to respond, rather, there will be a swift and painful response targeting the US and all its interests in the region,” Mohammed al-Bukhaiti, a member of the Houthi political bureau, told AFP.
He also warned “all employees and workers at Saudi oil facilities and airports to stay away from these sites, as they have become legitimate targets”.
The campaign, he said, was intended to show the crown prince, Mohammed bin Salman, “that he can no longer wage aggression against Yemen from a safe position”.
Trump condemned Saturday’s attack as “not acceptable” and said he would speak to the crown prince about the possibility of joining strikes against the Houthis.
Fighting in Taiz
Elsewhere in Yemen, Houthi fighters have tightened their siege of Taiz, where more than 60 people were killed in 24 hours, military sources from both sides told AFP.
A military source loyal to the internationally recognised, Saudi-backed government said the Houthis had blocked all exits and launched several attacks overnight. The dead included 22 pro-government fighters and at least 40 Houthis, the sources said. The Houthis continued fighting despite Saudi airstrikes and were sending reinforcements.
Yemen’s health ministry warned on Sunday of a “humanitarian catastrophe” in the city, where medicine, medical equipment and fuel were “on the verge of running out”.
Regional reaction
Iran said it was “deeply concerned” about the escalating attacks between the Houthis and Saudi Arabia and offered to help broker talks.
“We are deeply concerned about the developments taking place in the Arabian Peninsula,” the foreign ministry spokesman, Esmaeil Baqaei, told a weekly news conference. Tehran was ready, he said, “to use our good offices to help facilitate dialogue between the parties”.
Anwar Gargash, a diplomatic adviser to the UAE president, called for stronger Gulf security cooperation.
“It is necessary to revive joint action by the Gulf countries, particularly in security and defence, and to strengthen the collective security system,” he wrote on X, adding that shortcomings in regional security had encouraged further attacks.
The UAE, which has long been at odds with Saudi Arabia over Yemen, expressed its “full solidarity” with the kingdom.
China also condemned the attacks on Saudi airports and energy infrastructure. “China condemns the attacks that caused heavy casualties and expresses serious concern over the intensification of the conflict,” said the foreign ministry spokeswoman, Mao Ning, who urged all parties to avoid escalation and resolve disputes through dialogue.
Flights disrupted
Authorities have extended the closure of King Khalid international airport until Saturday, and airlines have cancelled flights after the repeated attacks. A notice to airmen showed the airport would stay closed until 2100 GMT on Oct 17.
Flightradar24 showed aircraft avoiding Riyadh on Monday, although flights continued through Saudi airspace towards Jeddah. The aviation analytics firm Cirium said cancellations across Saudi airports had reached 46.4pc.
Etihad Airways cancelled flights to Riyadh, Dammam and Jeddah, while Gulf Air suspended services to Riyadh. Lufthansa and Air France-KLM also extended suspensions. Delta Air Lines postponed its planned Atlanta-Riyadh service, due to start on Oct 23, until March 2027.
US aviation regulators urged airlines to exercise caution, and the American embassy warned citizens of security risks. “This level of sustained intense attack on civil aviation is unprecedented,” said Mark Zee, the founder of the aviation safety organisation Opsgroup.
