The United States may join Saudi Arabia in military strikes against the Houthis following Saturday’s deadly attack on Riyadh airport, President Donald Trump indicated, describing the strike as “a terrible thing” and “not acceptable”.
Asked outside the White House whether Washington would take part in a Saudi response against the Yemeni group, Trump said a decision was under consideration. “We may. We’re going to look at it. We just found out about the recent attack, so we’ll make a decision. We move very quickly,” he told reporters. He added that he planned to speak with Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman.
Saturday’s attack on King Khalid International Airport killed 12 people and left 309 injured, according to Saudi civil aviation authorities. Those killed included four Saudis, two Bangladeshis, and one national each from the United States, Jordan, Palestine, Syria, Sudan and Egypt. It was the third Houthi strike on the airport within a week — earlier attacks killed four people and damaged a Saudia aircraft — making it the deadliest incident on Saudi soil in more than a decade.
All flights to and from Riyadh were diverted or cancelled after the attack. A Houthi media official claimed on X that the group had “shut down” the airport and urged airlines to stay out of Saudi airspace, while the US embassy in Riyadh advised American citizens to avoid the airport.
The Saudi-led coalition vowed a decisive response, calling the strike a “fully-fledged war crime”. The coalition first intervened in Yemen in 2015 in support of the internationally recognised government. A 2022 truce fell apart over the summer, the Houthis seized control of the Bab el-Mandeb chokepoint, and Yemen’s government launched an offensive this week.
Riyadh is due to host major energy and investment conferences; organisers said the events would go ahead as planned.
Related: Riyadh Airport Attack Kills 12, Injures More Than 300
Featured image: US Navy aircraft over the Red Sea (US Air Force photo, public domain, via Wikimedia Commons).
