The Ansar Allah group renews the warning against navigation in Saudi airspace, and the American embassy in Saudi Arabia restricts the use of Jeddah and Dammam airports.
The Ansar Allah group in Yemen (the Houthis) renewed its warning against using Saudi airports and airspace because they are vulnerable to being targeted, a day after an attack on King Khalid International Airport in Riyadh that left 12 dead and at least 309 injured.
The military spokesman for the group, Yahya Saree, issued a warning to all air navigation companies, experts, employees, workers and travelers against using Saudi airports and airspace because they are vulnerable to being targeted and a theater of operations, but he excluded Mecca and Medina.
Saree stated that the Yemeni group "is continuing to establish the announced equations, equating airport with airport, siege with siege, and escalation with escalation until its goals are achieved."
The new warning from the Ansar Allah group was preceded by a statement from the US Embassy in Saudi Arabia in which it announced that its employees were informed of the need to obtain a special permit to use Jeddah and Dammam airports.
The statement said: “US government employees working in Saudi Arabia now require a special permit to use King Khalid International Airport in Riyadh, in addition to Jeddah and Dammam airports.”
Western embassies in Saudi Arabia call on their nationals to stay away from Riyadh Airport
On Saturday, the embassies of Canada, Germany and Spain in Saudi Arabia called on their citizens to stay away from Riyadh International Airport, following reports that it had been attacked.
The Spanish embassy, via the X platform, alerted its citizens of a “new attack” on the airport.
The Canadian embassy merely said that “ongoing military activity,” the nature of which was not specified, was affecting the airport, while the German mission attributed its request to “the current situation.”
On Friday, the French embassy urged French nationals to exercise “utmost caution” in Saudi Arabia due to “the strikes launched by the Houthis in recent days,” while warning its citizens against photographing the areas that were bombed or sharing any photos online.
Distance education in Riyadh
Schools in Riyadh moved to the distance education system as of Sunday, following the attack that targeted the airport in the Saudi capital, according to a letter addressed to parents and seen by Agence France-Presse.
The email stated that, in line with the directives of the Ministry of Education, all schools in Riyadh will move to distance learning throughout the week. This is the second time such a measure has been taken in the capital in less than a month.
The Saudi-led military coalition announced the interception and destruction of a ballistic missile launched by the Ansar Allah group in Al-Kharj Governorate, hours after it announced that a projectile had fallen in the vicinity of King Fahd International Airport in Dammam, east of the Kingdom.
In a statement issued on Sunday, the Saudi General Authority of Civil Aviation announced the killing of 12 people, including four Saudis and eight residents of different nationalities, and the injury of 309 others, some of whom are in critical conditions, as a result of the attack on King Khalid International Airport on Saturday afternoon.
The authority added that the attack caused material damage, which is being assessed, after it announced the temporary suspension of operational operations at the airport.
US President Donald Trump described the attack as "unacceptable" and said that he would speak with Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman.
Trump had said in previous statements that he would make a “quick” decision regarding the possibility of the United States joining Saudi Arabia in launching strikes against the Ansar Allah group in Yemen.
The United Nations Special Envoy to Yemen, Hans Grundberg, condemned the attacks launched by the group on Saudi civilian facilities, considering that they represent a dangerous escalation that threatens regional security and complicates peace efforts in Yemen, calling on the group to stop them and respect international humanitarian law.
The attack also sparked condemnations from Arab and foreign countries, including Jordan, Egypt, Bahrain, Oman, Palestine, Lebanon, and Britain, in addition to the Gulf Cooperation Council, the Organization of Islamic Cooperation, and other regional organizations, which affirmed their solidarity with Saudi Arabia and called for the protection of civilian facilities and the safety of air navigation.
