Middle East crisis live: Houthis warn passengers against using Saudi airport after deadly attack on Riyadh

A deadly attack struck Riyadh’s main airport after repeated Houthi missile attacks on Saudi Arabia. The latest attack killed 12 people, including an American citizen, and earlier attacks that week left four dead and damaged an aircraft. The incidents showed that civilian airports had become part of the conflict.

The Houthis responded with a direct warning to travellers and airlines. Military spokesman Yahya Saree said Mecca and Medina were excluded, but other Saudi airports and airspace were exposed to targeting. He told the public to take the warning seriously and blamed Saudi Arabia for any failed interceptions.

The warning is part of a wider retaliation strategy. Saudi Arabia has increased strikes on Houthi territory while supporting a counter-offensive in Yemen. The Houthis said they were pursuing “airport for airport” and “escalation for escalation,” so further attacks remain possible if Saudi military action continues.

The Houthis are a rebel group fighting in Yemen against forces aligned with the country’s UN-recognised government. That government is backed by Saudi Arabia, so the war is also a struggle over Saudi influence in Yemen. The article describes the Houthis as Iran-aligned and says they have rapidly seized territory since September.

Their stated objective is to remove Saudi influence from Yemen. They have attacked Saudi airports, oil facilities and tankers, including missile strikes on Riyadh. These attacks followed the collapse of a truce in July and intensified as Saudi-backed forces launched a counter-offensive.

The conflict remains active and its front lines are uncertain. The Houthis have taken islands in the Bab al-Mandab strait and positions along the Red Sea. Saudi Arabia is supporting government forces and increasing strikes on Houthi territory, while the Houthis threaten stronger retaliation if that action continues.

The article gives several separate casualty counts rather than one overall total. The latest airport attack killed 12 people. It also says attacks on the airport earlier that week had already killed four people, wounded others and badly damaged an aircraft. These figures describe attacks connected with Saudi airports.

For Saudi-led attacks inside Yemen, the Houthi-run health ministry reported 91 Yemenis killed and 168 injured over the previous five weeks. It said women and children made up 60% of those killed. That account comes from Houthi authorities and is presented as their reported toll.

The numbers should not simply be added together. They refer to different locations and time periods, and the article does not provide a single verified total for all recent fighting. It does show a conflict causing civilian casualties on both sides, with airport attacks and air strikes intensifying together.

Both sides are targeting infrastructure because it carries military, economic and political importance. Saudi Arabia is backing Yemen’s UN-recognised government and has increased strikes against the Houthis. The Houthis are trying to remove Saudi influence from Yemen and use attacks beyond the battlefield to make that intervention costly.

The pattern is openly reciprocal. Houthi military spokesman Yahya Saree called it “airport for airport, siege for siege, and escalation for escalation.” The Houthis have attacked Saudi airports, oil facilities and tankers, while Saudi-led forces conduct air strikes in Houthi territory and support a counter-offensive around Bab al-Mandab.

This strategy expands the consequences of the war. Attacks threaten passengers, aircraft, energy facilities and shipping routes. The Houthis warned that Saudi airports and airspace were exposed to targeting, while their foreign ministry said worse action would follow unless Saudi Arabia stopped its “aggression and interference” in Yemen.

The Bab al-Mandab strait is a narrow maritime passage that the article presents as strategically crucial for regional transport and energy flows. It lies between Yemen and the Red Sea area. Control of the passage affects access for ships moving through one of the world’s important routes.

The Houthis have taken over islands in the strait and established positions along the Red Sea. The article says this has tightened their grip on the passageway. Saudi Arabia, a top oil exporter, had been diverting oil flows through this route because the Strait of Hormuz remained shut off.

That makes the strait a major focus of the war. Saudi-backed government forces launched a counter-offensive to retake it, but reports differed over whether the push had succeeded or been repelled. Continued fighting could therefore affect military control, oil movements and international shipping through the Red Sea region.

The article identifies a serious risk but does not report measured changes in oil supplies, fuel prices or shipping volumes. It says the Houthis have tightened their grip on the Bab al-Mandab passage, through which Saudi Arabia had been diverting oil flows while the Strait of Hormuz remained shut off.

The key mechanism is disruption or avoidance. If attacks make ships or aircraft unsafe, carriers may delay journeys, use longer routes or require more protection. Oil exporters may also face difficulty moving cargoes through the threatened passage. Those changes can reduce available supply temporarily and increase insurance, fuel and transport costs.

The immediate article gives no confirmed price spike or shipping shutdown. It does show that the risk is international because the threatened route carries Saudi oil and connects with the Red Sea. If escalation continues, markets and shipping companies would likely face greater uncertainty, but the article does not quantify the effect.

The article describes the Houthis as Iran-aligned and Saudi Arabia as the main outside power backing Yemen’s recognised government. That alignment makes the Yemeni war part of a broader contest over influence, rather than only an internal fight. Houthi attacks on Saudi territory bring the conflict directly into the kingdom.

The mechanism is escalation across borders. The Houthis fire missiles at Saudi airports, oil facilities and tankers, while Saudi Arabia launches strikes in Yemen and asks Western allies for more missile interceptors. The United States has provided intelligence and targeting help, and an American citizen was killed in the latest airport attack.

US involvement remains limited in the article. Donald Trump had resisted sending warplanes and cited military demands, empty munitions stocks and concern about another long war. Continued Houthi attacks or Saudi requests could pressure Washington to take a more active position, while further Saudi strikes could trigger stronger Houthi responses.