Yahya Sari, a military spokesman for Yemen's Houthi-aligned Ansarallah movement, announced Monday evening that King Khalid International Airport in Riyadh was targeted with a ballistic missile. According to Donya-ye Eghtesad, Sari stated the missile struck its target, and in a separate operation, Khamis Mushait airbase was hit with an unmanned aircraft.
In his statement, Sari called on airlines worldwide, aviation experts, workers, and passengers from various nations to avoid flights to Saudi airports; he noted this warning excludes the airspace of Mecca and Medina. Following this warning, IRNA reported that Emirates and Qatar Airways suspended service to Riyadh and Dammam; ISNA reported that Etihad Airways canceled flights to Riyadh, Dammam, and Jeddah.
According to a separate Donya-ye Eghtesad report, loud explosions were heard the same night in Riyadh, Dammam, and Khamis Mushait; the nature of the blasts was not officially clarified. Local sources mentioned a separate attack on King Fahd International Airport in Dammam, but this claim was not independently confirmed.
According to IRNA citing Yemen's Health Ministry, 385 civilians have been killed or wounded since the latest Saudi assault wave on Yemen began; this figure is separate from casualty counts in the Riyadh airport attacks and pertains to the overall toll of the conflict—the two numbers should not be conflated. According to Iran International citing Reuters, Saudi Arabia's early warning system did not issue any public alert before the latest deadly strikes on Riyadh Airport; several Western and Arab officials said that halting public warnings raises questions about Saudi air defense capability against Houthi strikes.
How the Persian press covered it
| Source (orientation) | Headline / framing |
|---|---|
| Donya-ye Eghtesad (technocratic) | Emphasized Ansarallah's attack claims and airline warnings. |
| IRNA (state news agency) | Reported Yemen casualty toll and airline suspensions in separate headlines. |
| Iran International (opposition, diaspora) | Highlighted Reuters-sourced "no warning issued" claim and Saudi defense gaps. |
Context
This attack follows the earlier Riyadh airport strike reported in previous coverage, which killed at least 12 people; casualty counts then ranged between 12-309 and 62, a discrepancy that remains unconfirmed. The strikes are part of the broader conflict detailed in a report on the SABIC refinery Houthi attack; mutual strikes have continued since the Yemen ceasefire between Ansarallah and the Saudi-backed government collapsed in July. The simultaneous suspension of service by three major carriers signals the magnitude of damage to regional aviation; Saudi authorities' limited information release has itself become a subject of international criticism.
