Strike against Riyadh airport: a French woman among the injured, Paris expresses “its total solidarity” with Saudi Arabia

Activities at Riyadh international airport remain suspended on Sunday, following repeated deadly attacks against this site, a source in the air sector in the Saudi capital told AFP, after the announcement on Saturday evening of its temporary closure. “Riyadh airport suspended operations again today. They informed us about it at dawn,” this source told AFP. Air tracking site Flightradar24 also reported on X that “the closure of Riyadh airport has been extended by another 24 hours, until 9 p.m. UTC today.”

France condemned on Sunday the “heinous attack carried out by the Houthis” which left 12 dead at Riyadh airport, the deadliest in Saudi Arabia in ten years, in a press release from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

Paris reaffirms “its total solidarity with the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia” and “will continue to stand by it in the defense of its territory and its infrastructure,” added the Quai d’Orsay, indicating that a French national is among the 309 injured.

The Houthis have threatened Saudi Arabia with new strikes against air traffic. “The Yemeni armed forces renew their warning” against the use of “Saudi airspace” and these airports, “with the exception” of those in the holy cities of Mecca and Medina, “because they are exposed to strikes and constitute a theater of operations by our forces”, affirmed on X Yahya Saree, the military spokesperson for the movement at war against Saudi Arabia, which supports the Yemeni government.

At least 12 people were killed and 309 injured in an attack on Saturday against Riyadh airport, the deadliest in more than ten years in the kingdom, Saudi authorities announced, blaming Yemen's Houthis. Four Saudis and eight foreigners, including an American, were among the dead, the civil aviation authority said in a statement.

“What happened in Saudi Arabia is not acceptable,” responded US President Donald Trump on Saturday evening, indicating that he would speak with Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, de facto leader of the kingdom. The military coalition led by Saudi Arabia in support of the internationally recognized government of Yemen has accused the pro-Iranian Houthi fighters, denouncing “a war crime” to which it will respond “firmly”.

The coalition also announced in the evening the fall of a projectile near Dammam airport, in the east of the kingdom. This airport, along with that of Jeddah (west), is an alternative to Riyadh airport, closed since Saturday. Another projectile was intercepted southeast of Riyadh.

“Serious escalation”

The attack “constitutes a serious escalation,” said the UN envoy for Yemen, Hans Grundberg, on Saturday, accusing the Houthis. The Prime Minister of Pakistan, Shebaz Sharif, also strongly condemned an attack “targeting civilians and essential infrastructure” and a “threat to peace”. His country is a signatory to the Mecca defense pact with Turkey and Saudi Arabia.

Pro-Iranian fighters in Yemen had already claimed responsibility for strikes against the airport on Wednesday and Thursday. Three Saudis, including a pilot, died Thursday in these attacks. On Wednesday, an Egyptian, an Algerian and a Sudanese were killed.

According to American media, the kingdom has asked the United States several times recently to help counter the Houthis who launched a lightning offensive in September in Yemen, where they took the coastline on the Red Sea and strengthened their hold on the strategic Bab el-Mandeb strait, triggering a counter-offensive by Yemeni forces.

Asked earlier Saturday by journalists at the White House whether Washington would participate in strikes against pro-Iranian fighters, the American president replied: “It’s possible. We will look into the matter. We have just learned of this recent attack (in Riyadh), so we will make a decision. We are acting very quickly.”