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- Three Saudi nationals, including a pilot, were killed in two Houthi attacks on Riyadh’s King Khalid International Airport, Saudi aviation authorities said.
- Hundreds of flights were canceled after the strikes, although Saudi authorities said airport operations and air traffic had returned to normal the following day.
- Saudi Arabia vowed a “firm response” as the attacks deepen regional tensions, while U.S.-Iran diplomacy helped push oil prices lower.
The Skyline of Riyadh is seen on October 31, 2023 in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.Justin Setterfield | Getty Images Sport | Getty Images
Three Saudi nationals, including a pilot, were killed in attacks on a Riyadh international airport by Iran-backed Houthi militants on Thursday, Saudi Arabia’s civil aviation authority said.
In a statement posted on X Friday, the Saudi Arabian General Authority of Civil Aviation (GACA) said the deaths were caused by two attacks on the capital’s King Khalid International Airport the previous day.
The first attack, officials said, targeted the airport’s facilities, while the second aimed at an aircraft belonging to Saudi carrier Saudia.
Saudia said in a separate statement on Friday that Captain Hamoud Ali Alkalthami was killed in the strikes.
Yemen’s Houthis, a militant group backed by Tehran, claimed the attacks.
In a separate statement, the Saudi-led coalition fighting the Houthis said on Friday that it would respond firmly to the militants’ recent attacks, after confirming the destruction of three missile launchers used by the group.
“Houthi attacks on civilians and civilian infrastructure will be met with a firm response,” Major General Turki al-Malki, the spokesperson of the coalition, said in a statement.
Houthi attacks spark flight cancelations
Hundreds of flights out of Saudi Arabia were cancelled Thursday, according to data from Cirium. By Thursday evening, 31 flights due to depart the following day had been canceled, the data showed.
However, the GACA said Friday that airport operations and air traffic had now returned to normal.
News agency Reuters reported Thursday that France and Saudi Arabia were exploring ways for the French military to help protect the Yanbu oil terminal on Saudi Arabia’s Red Sea coast.
Thursday’s attacks were the latest in a series of escalations, as the Houthis stepped up their campaign on Riyadh.
Last month, smoke was seen near Riyadh’s main airport as the Houthis claimed to have targeted “sensitive” sites in the city.
Saudi Arabia has backed Yemen’s internationally recognized government in the country’s civil war. The civil war has reignited in recent weeks amid the U.S.-Iran war.
On Monday, Turkey and Pakistan agreed they would help Saudi Arabia implement “deterrence measures” and deploy forces to support Yemen’s counterattacks on the Houthis. It came after Yemeni forces reclaimed a key Red Sea port city from the rebel group.
U.S. attacks on Iran postponed
Elsewhere, U.S. President Donald Trump said Thursday that the U.S. would not launch attacks on Iran until after the American midterm elections. Voters will go to the polls on Nov. 3.
The president also said Thursday that Washington was having “productive discussions” with Tehran, according to Reuters.
“On the Iranian side, Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said they were reviewing a US proposal and would respond to it in the next few days, according to Iran’s Tasnim news agency,” Deutsche Bank’s Jim Reid said in a Friday morning note.
“So both sides acknowledged that talks were happening, which took some of the pressure off oil prices into the close. Yet even with that, the negative headlines still won out yesterday, and it was clear investors were pricing a longer period of disruption into next year.”
Oil prices fell after Trump’s comments on Thursday, with futures extending their decline into Friday morning.
Front-month Brent crude oil futures were last seen 1.3% lower at $102.94 a barrel. U.S. West Texas Intermediate futures were last seen 1% lower at $90.51 per barrel.
