Saudi Arabia on Sunday extended the closure of its main international airport and shifted schools in Riyadh to online classes as Yemen’s Houthi rebels threatened further attacks across the kingdom, a day after a missile strike killed 12 people and injured more than 300.
Saturday’s attack on King Khalid International Airport in Riyadh marked a significant escalation in the conflict between Saudi Arabia and the Iran-backed Houthis. It also added complications to stalled efforts to end the wider war between the United States and Iran.
US President Donald Trump said he was considering whether Washington would join Saudi military strikes against the rebels. Such involvement could prompt the Houthis to disrupt shipping through a vital regional waterway, further threatening oil exports from the Persian Gulf.
The Houthis said on Sunday that two airstrikes had hit Yemen’s capital, Sanaa, blaming Saudi Arabia for the attacks. Saudi authorities had not immediately commented, and no casualties were reported.
The Houthi-run Health Ministry said 91 people had been killed and 168 injured in five weeks of Saudi-led coalition strikes in Yemen, claiming that women and children accounted for 60 percent of those killed.
Houthis threaten further attacks
Saudi authorities announced that schools in Riyadh would continue online classes until the end of the week. The closure of King Khalid International Airport was extended until at least 9:00pm Sunday, according to flight-tracking service Flightradar24.
Although the Houthis did not immediately claim responsibility for Saturday’s airport attack, the group has previously acknowledged strikes on Saudi airports and oil facilities and threatened further attacks.
Houthi military spokesman Brig Gen Yahya Saree urged people to take the group’s warnings seriously.
The attack drew condemnation from several Arab countries, including Iraq, Lebanon and Syria, as well as UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres and European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen.
“Attacks by Iran’s proxies are pushing the region into a spiral of violence,” von der Leyen wrote on X on Sunday, warning that the attacks were disrupting vital global transport and energy infrastructure.
Victims from several countries
The missile struck an airport complex housing terminals 3 and 4, which serve domestic flights, a regional official said on condition of anonymity because they were not authorised to speak publicly.
Saudi authorities said the 12 people killed included four Saudi citizens, two Bangladeshi nationals, and one citizen each from Palestine, the United States, Egypt, Jordan, Syria and Sudan. Several hospitals were treating the injured.
Egyptian state-run Al-Qahera News reported that the Egyptian victim was Azza Ramzy, a 28-year-old flight attendant employed by Saudi airline Flynas.
Trump weighs military involvement
The attack is expected to intensify Saudi Arabia’s efforts to secure military assistance from allies, including the United States.
Trump said shortly after the strike that Washington was assessing whether to join Saudi operations against the Houthis, adding that a decision would be made quickly. He later said he planned to speak with Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman.
Direct US involvement would deepen Washington’s role in a regional conflict that has become politically sensitive ahead of the US midterm elections. Trump and Iran have maintained that the election timetable would not determine their decisions on ending the seven-month-old war.
The Houthis had earlier claimed attacks on King Khalid International Airport that killed three Saudis, including a pilot. The airport does not have military facilities, according to the report.
The latest escalation follows a major offensive launched by a Saudi-led coalition against the Houthis a week earlier. The rebels have also targeted other Saudi airports, military installations and oil infrastructure.
Conflict threatens regional oil shipments
The renewed fighting comes as negotiations between Washington and Tehran to end their war appear stalled.
The Houthis, who had largely remained on the sidelines of the conflict until recently, are now increasing pressure on a key US ally. Their attacks and control of the Bab el-Mandeb strait threaten additional disruptions to regional oil shipments.
Saudi Arabia intervened in Yemen’s civil war in 2015 in support of the internationally recognised government, beginning its conflict with the Houthis.
A period of relative calm following a 2022 ceasefire ended in July, when the Houthis resumed attacks, accusing Saudi Arabia of firing on Sanaa airport as an Iranian aircraft attempted to land. The incident revived anger over the Saudi-led blockade, which has largely isolated areas controlled by the rebels.
Fighting has since intensified, with the Saudi-led coalition providing air support to Yemeni government forces seeking to reverse recent Houthi advances along the Red Sea. Those gains have strengthened the rebels’ ability to monitor shipping through the Bab el-Mandeb, a strategic corridor that serves as an alternative route to the Strait of Hormuz, where Iran has attacked vessels.
Saudi Arabia is also facing shortages of missile interceptors and has sought air defence assistance from France, Britain, Pakistan and Egypt, regional officials told The Associated Press last month. One official said US stocks had also dwindled during the war with Iran.
However, Ahmed Nagi, the International Crisis Group’s senior analyst for Yemen, warned that the Houthi strategy could have the opposite effect.
Rather than persuading Riyadh to scale back its campaign, attacks on critical Saudi infrastructure could strengthen the kingdom’s determination to continue its military operations, he said.