Houthis Claim Fresh Strikes On Riyadh Airport; Saudi Security Fears Rise

On Monday, Yemen's Houthi movement said it had hit Riyadh's King Khalid International Airport with a ballistic missile and Khamis Mushait airbase, close to the Yemen border, with a drone. The wave of strikes has raised concerns about Saudi Arabia's security and economic ambitions.

Saudi Arabia had not confirmed the Houthi account at the time of reporting. Earlier on Monday, the Saudi-led coalition's spokesman said an unspecified number of missiles fired from Yemen had been "intercepted and destroyed". Late Monday in Riyadh, residents heard loud blasts after a mobile phone warning about an aerial threat was sent.

"Our armed forces successfully targeted King Khalid International Airport in the Saudi Arabian capital, Riyadh, this evening with a ballistic missile. The strike was precise," Houthi military spokesman Yahya Saree said. He also described the drone attack on Khamis Mushait airbase as direct.

"The area is under a hostile aerial threat. Please remain calm, stay indoors or in a safe place away from windows and doors," the mobile phone alert said. The blasts were believed to have come from air-defence interceptors engaging incoming weapons.

These claims came after several attacks on Saudi Arabia. The group said Saturday's strike on King Khalid International Airport killed 13 people and wounded more than 300, according to reports. Another strike was reported on Sunday.

The violence also increases pressure on Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, whose effort to diversify an oil-dependent economy is already under financial strain.

Threats To Washington

A senior Houthi official warned the United States against joining Saudi military operations in Yemen. He said American interests across the region could face retaliation.

"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 urged people working at Saudi oil facilities and airports to keep away from the sites, describing them as "legitimate targets". Over the weekend, Trump said Washington was weighing whether to join Saudi air strikes against the Iran-aligned group. "What they did was very bad," Trump said, adding that he planned to discuss the attack with Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman.

Saudi military spokesman Turki al-Maliki said Saudi air defences intercepted missiles fired from Yemen. Officials have also warned that interceptor stocks are running low.

War And Diplomacy

In 2015, Saudi Arabia entered Yemen's civil war on the side of the internationally recognised government. The Saudi-led air campaign deepened the fighting as the Houthis retaliated with strikes on Saudi cities and oil infrastructure.

The fighting eventually settled into a stalemate, and a ceasefire followed in 2022. The latest escalation comes as Crown Prince Mohammed has tried to keep tensions with Iran contained while maintaining diplomatic channels.

According to people familiar with the kingdom's deliberations, as reported by The Wall Street Journal, Saudi intelligence assessments said Tehran was pressing the Houthis to join a wider conflict. Saudi officials also judged that the Houthis had taken heavy military damage from US and Israeli attacks over the previous year and might therefore act on their own interests.

The group increased activity over the summer. In August, it began an offensive aimed at taking coastal territory near the Bab al-Mandeb strait, a shipping chokepoint between the Red Sea and the Gulf of Aden.

Saudi Arabia withheld air support while its Yemeni allies tried to fend off a Houthi assault on Mokha. The city and other nearby coastal positions later fell, which heightened the risk to Saudi oil shipments.

Saudi Arabia has sought backing from Pakistan and is searching globally for additional air-defence systems. It is also considering recruiting foreign fighters for its Yemeni allies, according to people familiar with the discussions, while exploring whether diplomacy can still contain the conflict.