Houthis strike Riyadh for third consecutive day as Saudi defenses face scrutiny

Riyadh shook again on Monday night. Residents felt the concussions moments after their phones lit up with a warning of incoming fire. The Saudi-led coalition said it had intercepted another ballistic missile aimed at the capital, along with two more headed toward Khamis Mushait in the southwest. Turki Al-Maliki, the coalition's spokesperson, announced on X that all three projectiles had been destroyed. But the explosions people heard were real enough.

This was the third straight day of Houthi strikes on the Saudi capital. The group, which controls Yemen's most densely populated regions including the capital Sanaa, said they had aimed specifically at King Khalid International airport. Yahya Saree, their military spokesman, confirmed they had also sent a drone toward a military airbase near the Yemeni border. He issued a fresh warning to international airlines and travelers: Saudi airports were unsafe, he said, except for flights to Mecca and Medina.

The airport had already been shuttered since Saturday, when a Houthi attack killed at least thirteen people and wounded more than three hundred. A second strike on Sunday added one more death and eleven wounded. Now the toll across three days had climbed to at least fourteen dead and over three hundred injured. Saudi authorities announced the airport would remain closed through Saturday. Airlines across the region began canceling flights. Etihad Airways suspended all service to Riyadh, Dammam, and Jeddah until the following week. Gulf Air pulled its Riyadh flights. Delta postponed the launch of a new direct route from Atlanta, originally set for October 23.

The attacks have exposed a vulnerability in Saudi Arabia's air defenses that officials cannot ignore. Two regional sources told the Associated Press that an investigation had already begun into why the country's systems failed to stop the barrage. An initial finding suggested the Houthis had deployed drones first to create an opening, then sent a combination of cruise and ballistic missiles through the gap to reach the airport. The missiles themselves posed a particular challenge: they carry warheads capable of changing direction mid-flight, a capability that strains the Patriot interceptors and other systems Saudi Arabia relies on. Investigators also wanted to understand why defenses had not provided earlier warning of an attack in which missiles and drones traveled more than a thousand kilometers to strike Riyadh.

The broader conflict driving these strikes has roots in Yemen's civil war, where the Houthis fight forces aligned with the internationally recognized government. Saudi Arabia leads a coalition that has conducted an air campaign against the group and backed government ground forces. The fighting intensified amid regional tensions sparked by the United States and Israel's war on Iran. At an energy conference in Riyadh, Saudi Energy Minister Prince Abdulaziz bin Salman Al Saud acknowledged the weight of the moment. "The events of recent weeks are serious," he said. "Our response must be equally serious." He insisted that Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman's Vision 2030 economic diversification plan would continue, and that investment would not stop.

The Houthis showed no sign of backing down. Mohammed al-Bukhaiti, a member of their political bureau, warned that if the United States became involved in what he called aggression against Yemen, the group would respond swiftly and painfully, targeting American interests across the region. He also issued a direct threat to workers at Saudi oil facilities and airports, calling these sites "legitimate targets" and urging employees to stay away.

President Donald Trump weighed in briefly when asked about the group. "The Houthis are misbehaving very badly. No good," he told reporters. He offered no indication that Washington planned to intervene. The Houthis' warning suggested they were watching closely for any shift in that posture.

The attacks have begun to reshape the calendar of major events planned for Riyadh this month. The kingdom's flagship investment conference and the WPC Energy Congress both faced pressure as several top oil executives withdrew from the program. The closure of the airport and the uncertainty it created rippled outward, affecting not just travelers but the business and diplomatic life of the capital itself.