A missile attack struck King Khalid International Airport in Riyadh on Saturday, killing at least 12 people and injuring more than 300 others in the deadliest assault on a Gulf Arab state since the start of the Iran conflict in February.
The strike hit a passenger complex housing domestic flight terminals 3 and 4, shattering glass, scattering debris and forcing an immediate shutdown of aviation operations across the Saudi capital, regional officials told Fortune and Agence France-Presse. Saudi civil aviation authorities said the victims included four Saudi nationals, two Bangladeshis, and one citizen each from the United States, Egypt, Jordan, Syria, Sudan and the Palestinian territories.
Trump weighs military response
Speaking to reporters outside the White House following the incident, President Donald Trump stated that Washington is considering joining Saudi Arabia in retaliatory military action against the Yemen-based Houthi movement.
“We may. We’re going to look at it,” Trump told reporters, according to reports by Fortune and Al Jazeera. “We just found out about the recent attack, so we’ll make a decision. We move very quickly.”
U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio strongly condemned the strike on social media, describing it as a demonstration of “blatant disregard for innocent civilian life” and demanding an immediate halt to the attacks. Diplomatic missions representing the United States, the United Kingdom, Canada and Australia quickly urged their nationals in Riyadh to steer clear of the airport complex and surrounding areas.
Aviation paralyzed and regional clashes mount
The Saudi General Authority of Civil Aviation announced that flights into Riyadh were halted or diverted, leaving hundreds of flights canceled across the region. International carriers including Lufthansa Group, Air India, FlyDubai, Kuwait Airways, Etihad Airways and Qatar Airways suspended flights into the kingdom’s capital, according to aviation tracking platforms and company notices.
The Saudi-led military coalition operating in Yemen blamed the Houthis for Saturday’s strike, labeling the incident a war crime and pledging a decisive response. Spokesperson Major-General Turki al-Malki also confirmed that another projectile landed in the vicinity of King Fahd International Airport in the eastern city of Dammam.
Reports differed on whether the rebel movement had formally asserted credit for Saturday’s fatal strike. The New York Post reported that the Houthis claimed responsibility as retaliation for a fresh Saudi air campaign in Yemen, while Al Jazeera and Fortune reported that the group had not yet issued a formal claim. However, the movement had issued warnings earlier in the week declaring Saudi airspace an active theater of operations.
Escalating conflict across the border
Saturday’s strike marked the third attack on the Riyadh airport in recent days, following strikes earlier in the week that killed at least four individuals, including a commercial pilot, and damaged a parked aircraft. Saudi Arabia has faced dwindling stockpiles of air defense interceptors and previously sought assistance from European and regional partners, officials told The Associated Press.
The cross-border missile barrage coincides with fierce fighting inside Yemen, where Saudi-backed government forces launched an offensive attempting to retake the strategic Bab el Mandeb Strait and Perim Island along the Red Sea coast. Saudi Ambassador Mohammad Al-Jaber announced that allied forces had cleared the waterway, though Yemeni commanders noted that military operations to secure the entire area remained contested.
Whether Washington will approve direct military strikes alongside Saudi forces remains undecided as U.S. and Saudi officials continue assessing the airport damage, while international travelers face ongoing flight cancellations across the Gulf.
