The Saudi Civil Defense announced the issuance of air raid warnings in Riyadh and Kharj Governorate, southeast of the capital. Kharg is home to the state-owned Saudi Military Industries Company and Prince Sultan Air Base. King Khalid International Airport in Riyadh was targeted several times last week in deadly attacks. The Iran-backed Houthis in Yemen claimed responsibility for the attacks.
The latest developments in the Iran war saw the Houthis repeatedly targeting airports, military installations, and oil infrastructure in the Kingdom. Yesterday, Tuesday, a fire broke out in an administrative building belonging to Saudi Aramco in the city of Dhahran, in the Eastern Province. The Houthis issued advance warnings, before the attacks on the two airports and oil installations, as airlines suspended their flights and withdrew their planes.
The Saudi-led military coalition, in support of the internationally recognized Yemeni government, announced on Tuesday (October 13, 2026) the interception and destruction of three cruise missiles and two drones in Riyadh and the southern region.
Coalition spokesman Turki Al-Maliki wrote on the
A short time later, it was announced that a winged cruise missile had been intercepted and destroyed in the Riyadh region.
Six sources told Reuters that loud sounds were heard in the vicinity of the Saudi Aramco headquarters in Dhahran, which was empty of employees. One source reported smoke rising from Aramco headquarters.
An informed source told Reuters that the Aramco headquarters was bombed, adding that it was not yet clear whether the building was subjected to a direct attack or falling debris.
The coalition said that fragments of a missile that its forces intercepted and destroyed in Dhahran fell on a residential area, without providing further details.
There was no official comment or confirmation from Aramco.
Launching raids in Sanaa and other Yemeni governorates
These developments in Saudi Arabia came after the coalition announced earlier today that it had targeted the oil company in Sanaa, which it had previously warned civilians to stay away from, and facilities used to transport fuel in the governorates of Saada, Dhamar, and Hodeidah in western Yemen. He added that these facilities were being used to "fuel the war effort" of the Houthis in "threatening the Kingdom and Yemen through the Red Sea and waterways." Houthi media outlets confirmed that a Saudi bombing had occurred, noting that it resulted in two deaths.
The Houthi attacks targeted Saudi oil facilities and oil tankers in the Red Sea, which is largely a main route for the Kingdom's oil exports, in addition to transportation centers, including airports.
The attacks of the Iranian-backed Houthis in recent days have reached an unprecedented extent, and included several strikes on Riyadh Airport, one of which resulted in the death of 13 people and the injury of hundreds of others on Saturday, in the most violent attack on Saudi territory in more than ten years.
The Yemeni Houthi group allied with Iran said that Saudi Arabia launched an attack on Sanaa after Saudi-led coalition forces warned civilians not to approach an oil depot located on the outskirts of the city.
The Saudi-led coalition said, "We attacked an oil facility in Sanaa that the Houthis were using to support their attacks in Yemen." He added that the sites used by the Houthis support their arsenal of drones and missiles that threaten the Kingdom, ports, and ships in the Red Sea.
The Yemeni Ministry of Health, under the control of the Houthis, announced the killing of two people in an attack targeting an oil company in Hodeidah Governorate on the Red Sea, accusing Saudi Arabia of carrying out the attack.
In this context, Saudi Arabia stressed that it will not allow its security or freedom of navigation in the Red Sea and Bab al-Mandab to be threatened, threatening the Houthis to face consequences after they attack airports and oil installations in the Kingdom.
The Saudi government affirmed in a statement after its meeting headed by Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, “that it will not allow its security or freedom of maritime navigation in the Red Sea and the Bab al-Mandab Strait to be threatened,” adding that “the terrorist Houthi militia will face the consequences of its crimes and repeated sinful attacks on the airports of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, and on Mecca, Medina, and civil and economic facilities.”
The Houthis had threatened earlier today a "harsh and painful" response to any attacks targeting Sana'a, as Houthi spokesman Yahya Saree said that the targets may include the headquarters of Saudi Aramco in Dhahran and an oil refinery in Riyadh. The group renewed the warnings it had previously issued to workers in the oil sector in the Kingdom, asking them to stay away from sites that may be potential targets.
The Houthis have been targeting Saudi oil installations and airports for a week, including a raid on Riyadh on Saturday that killed 13 people and injured more than 300.
The Saudi authorities announced that the capital’s airport will remain closed until Saturday. The Saudi General Authority of Civil Aviation stated in a statement that the suspension of operational operations at King Khalid International Airport, the second busiest airport in the Kingdom after Jeddah, comes “to complete the necessary procedures to verify the safety of the airport facilities and their operational readiness.”
The Houthis said yesterday evening, Monday, that they attacked the airport with a ballistic missile, shortly after Saudi Arabia announced that it intercepted and destroyed a ballistic missile launched by the group towards Riyadh.
The group added in a statement that it "was able to target Khalid International Airport in Riyadh... with a ballistic missile, and the hit was accurate." It also said that it carried out "a targeting operation against Khamis Mushait Air Base with a drone, and the hit was direct."
There has been no Saudi confirmation yet regarding this attack.
A notice to pilots issued yesterday showed that the airport would remain closed until 21:00 GMT on October 17.
The airport has been closed since an attack that occurred last Saturday, which killed 13 people and injured more than 300 others. It was the bloodiest attack in the Kingdom in more than 10 years. Another attack on Sunday killed one person and injured more than a dozen others.
The attacks caused one of the largest disruptions to Saudi civil aviation in years, increasing pressure on a sector already suffering from the repercussions of conflict across the Middle East and high jet fuel prices that are eating away at profits. It also raised concerns about civil aviation becoming a target in armed conflicts.
British Prime Minister Andy Burnham said on Monday (October 12, 2026) that it was "very likely" that what was suspected of being a plot targeting Britain's Fairford Air Base was coordinated in Iran.
“I can confirm our assessment that it is very likely that this matter was coordinated in Iran, and almost certainly under the direction of the Iranian Revolutionary Guard,” Burnam told Parliament.
US bombers used the Fairford base to carry out strikes on Iran, but US President Donald Trump said last week that an Iran-related threat had prompted the withdrawal of the planes.
The British Foreign Office announced the summoning of the Iranian ambassador to London to express its dissatisfaction with "Iran's continued attempts to undermine the security of the United Kingdom and international partners through its criminal networks, affiliated groups, and malicious state-backed activities."
Foreign Secretary Ed Miliband said: “We are also announcing the designation of two Iranian nationals for their role in facilitating or engaging in hostile activities on behalf of the Iranian regime, with the clear intent of threatening, planning or carrying out attacks abroad.”
US officials told Reuters that there was a suspected plot involving Iran to launch an attack on the base with drones.
Iran denies its involvement and expresses its willingness to cooperate
Iran rejected any suggestion of its involvement in the Fairford incident, saying that the matter was nothing more than "baseless and malicious speculation."
Today, the official Islamic Republic News Agency (IRNA) reported that the Iranian ambassador to Britain, Seyed Ali Mousavi, denied any role for Tehran in the incident, and said that Iran is ready to cooperate with the British authorities in investigating the case.
The agency reported that "Mousavi once again categorically rejected the accusations related to Tehran's role in the Fairford military base incident." He "called on the British government to provide evidence to support its accusations, if any."
The United States and allied countries warn Iran of “unacceptable” behavior
In a related context, the United States and its partners, including Britain, Australia, Canada, France and Germany, warned Iran on Monday against launching hostile actions on its soil.
A joint statement published by the US State Department and signed by 29 parties said: “Any attempt by Iran to threaten, silence, intimidate, harass, harm, or coerce people on our soil, whether through proxies or by any other means, is unacceptable.”
The Saudi authorities said that one person was killed and 11 others were injured in a new attack on Riyadh International Airport yesterday, Sunday (October 11, 2026), a day after an attack on the airport that the Yemeni Houthi group allied with Iran claimed responsibility for, killing 13 and wounding more than 300.
The Saudi-led coalition in Yemen announced that an “unidentified projectile” targeted Terminal 4 at King Khalid International Airport in Riyadh, causing a fire. The Saudi General Authority of Civil Aviation stated that 11 people were injured in addition to the person who died.
According to the "Flight Radar 24" website, which specializes in tracking air traffic, the authorities have extended the closure of the capital's airport for an additional 24 hours, until 21:00 GMT on Monday.
The coalition announced that Saudi air defenses intercepted a cruise missile near the airport. The coalition later reported intercepting and destroying a drone in the eastern region of the Kingdom, adding that a ballistic missile launched towards Khamis Mushait was also intercepted.
The Houthis also announced, through their military spokesman, Yahya Saree, that they had launched massive attacks during the past twenty-four hours, targeting Riyadh Airport “in three stages,” Dammam Airport, and two facilities belonging to the Aramco oil company.
The Saudi Civil Defense said that it issued an early warning of a potential danger in Abha, in the south of the Kingdom, early on Monday, adding that the danger had subsequently passed from the city.
