A projectile struck King Khalid International Airport in Riyadh on Sunday, killing one person and injuring 11, Saudi Arabia's civil aviation authority said. The victim was a Pakistani resident. The strike hit terminals 3 and 4, which serve domestic flights, and started a fire. It came a day after a Houthi missile attack on the same airport that killed 12 people and wounded more than 300. The toll from Saturday's attack rose to 13 after an Indian citizen died of his injuries. Saudi authorities also said King Fahd International Airport in Dammam, in the country's east, had been attacked. The Riyadh airport has now been hit four times in five days, and it remains closed. Schools have been moved online until Thursday.
The Houthis, an Iran-backed movement that controls much of northern and western Yemen, claimed the earlier strikes and warned airlines and travellers to avoid Saudi airports and airspace. They said "the worst is yet to come" if Saudi military action continues. They also said a Saudi airstrike on Sanaa, the Houthi-held capital, killed a child. Saudi Arabia leads a coalition that backs Yemen's internationally recognised government, and it has said it will respond firmly. Britain, Australia and the United States have issued travel warnings, and the US aviation regulator urged American airlines to exercise caution over Saudi Arabia.
The attacks mark a sharp turn in a conflict that had been relatively calm since a 2022 UN-brokered truce. Fighting resumed after the Houthis launched an offensive along Yemen's Red Sea coast and seized areas near the Bab al-Mandab strait, a waterway through which about 10% of global maritime trade passes. It has gained importance because the Strait of Hormuz has not fully reopened since the US-Iran war began. Analysts note that Houthi missiles are reaching their targets despite Saudi air defences, and Riyadh has reportedly asked France, Egypt, Britain and Pakistan for help because its interceptor stocks are running low. Saudi Arabia, Pakistan and Turkey said they would speed up implementation of their mutual defence pact, and Britain offered refuelling support for interceptor aircraft.
The pressure is greatest on Washington. About 200 US military advisers are in Saudi Arabia, and the US has shared intelligence, but it has not fought the Houthis directly. One American was among the dead on Saturday. President Donald Trump said he is weighing whether to join the campaign, though commentators note that US midterm elections next month and public weariness with the Iran war argue against it. Direct involvement could also prompt the Houthis to resume attacks on shipping, further squeezing oil supplies.
Diplomacy is also moving. Iran's foreign minister, Abbas Araghchi, told his Saudi counterpart in a call that Tehran is ready to help start talks between Riyadh and the Houthis, saying the region's crises cannot be solved militarily. The attack drew condemnation from UN Secretary-General António Guterres and European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, who warned of a spiral of violence. Yemeni government forces say they are advancing against the Houthis, but they have so far not dislodged them from areas near the strait.