An attack on King Khalid Airport in Riyadh on Saturday killed a US citizen, in what BBC News describes as another dangerous moment for a region already fraught with tension and conflict.
According to BBC News, the Houthis have stepped up attacks on Saudi Arabian soil in recent weeks, and their strikes over the past few days have hit the country’s critical infrastructure by targeting the capital’s main airport. The group apparently penetrated Saudi air defences with ease.
BBC News reports that the physical damage can be repaired quickly, but the kingdom’s reputation as a safe haven of stability is taking a battering.
Beyond the airport attacks, the Houthis have sought to take control of strategically significant positions along the Red Sea coast and around the Bab al-Mandeb Strait, BBC News says. That further increases the risk to safe navigation along the vital maritime corridor, although the Yemeni government says it has “secured” the strait.
The civil war in Yemen, pitting the internationally recognised government supported by Saudi Arabia against the Iran-backed Houthis, has run for more than a decade. It has left many thousands dead and pushed Yemen into one of the world’s worst humanitarian crises, BBC News notes. The outlet describes the conflict as complex and often confusing, and says the latest escalation must be viewed in the broader context of tension between Iran, the United States and Israel.
BBC News observes that the kingdom has not faced such a serious threat since the al-Qaeda insurgency of the mid-2000s. Saudi Arabia overcame that challenge with an effective hearts and minds campaign, then weathered the Arab Spring uprisings that removed leaders in Tunisia, Libya, Egypt and Yemen, and shrugged off with some annoyance an Iranian ballistic missile attack on Riyadh in March.
This time is different, according to BBC News. Saudi Arabia may possess one of the most powerful air forces in the Middle East and has carried out devastating air strikes on Houthi positions, yet the opposing forces have still managed to seize large portions of the war-torn country, particularly in the north and west.
The Houthis, BBC News says, know exactly where to hit back: the soft underbelly of the Saudi economy. As part of the “axis of resistance”, they are a vital strategic partner for Iran. From Jizan on the Red Sea to the petrochemical complex at Khurais, they are delivering explosive drones and missiles with deadly accuracy, the outlet reports.
The Red Sea shipping route has grown increasingly important because the Strait of Hormuz, on the other side of the Gulf, has still not fully reopened since the US and Iran failed to reach a deal to end their war, according to BBC News. Targeting ships in the Red Sea is another way the Houthis seek to exert leverage, the outlet adds, because the attacks cause global economic damage, which is a key bargaining chip for Tehran.
In early September, the White House stated it would not directly intervene in the Yemen conflict but could provide intelligence support to the Saudis, BBC News reports. It later confirmed it was supplying intelligence and had deployed military experts to Saudi Arabia.
The situation may have taken a new turn after the latest attack on Riyadh, which killed a US citizen. Speaking to reporters, US President Donald Trump called Saturday’s attack “terrible” and indicated he may intervene militarily with the Saudis. “We just found out about the recent attack, so we’ll make a decision. We move very quickly,” Trump said.
But that now seems unlikely, at least before crucial US midterm elections next month, according to BBC News. When he was re-elected in 2024, Trump promised to end America’s role in wars around the world, yet the US is currently involved in three unresolved conflicts in the Middle East — in Gaza, Lebanon and Iran. Should Trump become embroiled in another one, this time in Yemen, it is unlikely to go down well with voters, BBC News says.
The war now looks set to intensify before it ends in another shaky truce, with or without US involvement, BBC News concludes.
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