Trump weighs joining the fight against Houthis after Saudi capital’s airport is struck again

Cairo: The international airport in Saudi Arabia’s capital, Riyadh, was attacked again on Saturday (Riyadh time) as the kingdom faces an extraordinary series of assaults in the new front in the Iran war. US President Donald Trump said he was evaluating whether the US should join Saudi strikes against the Tehran-backed Houthi rebels in neighbouring Yemen.

The Houthis claimed attacks earlier in the week on King Khalid International Airport that killed three Saudis, including a pilot. On Saturday, a missile struck a complex housing terminals 3 and 4 for domestic flights and many people were wounded, a regional official said, speaking on condition of anonymity because they weren’t authorised to speak to the media.

“We may. We’re going to look at it,” Trump said of intervening. “We just found out about the recent attack. So we’ll make a decision. We move very quickly.”

The surge in attacks, including against other Saudi airports, military facilities and oil infrastructure, has come in the week since a Saudi-led coalition launched a major military offensive against the Houthis. There was no immediate statement from the rebels, who earlier on Saturday accused Saudi Arabia of striking Sanaa International Airport in the Houthi-held Yemeni capital.

Saudi civil aviation authorities said airport operations were suspended and the extent of injuries and damage was being assessed. An official notice to aviators said the suspension was through midnight. The airport had a heavy police presence, with all entrances blocked, and lights around the complex were dimmed.

Flights diverted elsewhere, the Flightradar24 tracker said. Countries including the United States, Britain, Germany, Australia and Canada warned citizens to avoid the airport.

The attacks on Saudi Arabia, the world’s top oil exporter, have rattled markets and the region. And yet hours after the latest one, the Saudi energy ministry was still promoting a major international energy conference set to begin in Riyadh on Sunday.

Fighting in Yemen between the Houthis and Saudi-backed Yemeni government forces has escalated, with the Saudi-led coalition providing air support for government forces attempting to reverse recent Houthi gains along the Red Sea. Those gains gave the rebels better surveillance of shipping on a corridor that is a crucial alternative to the Strait of Hormuz, where Iran has been attacking ships.

Though the Houthis have told the AP and others they are only targeting Saudi shipping as part of a blockade in retaliation for one imposed on them, concerns about wider attacks persist. The Houthis previously attacked other ships after the war in Gaza began, calling it solidarity with Palestinians. A US bombing campaign sharply limited that.

Saudi Arabia is running low on missile interceptors and has asked France, Britain, Pakistan and Egypt to deploy air defence support to the region, regional officials told the AP last month, with one noting that the US had seen its own stock dwindle during the war with Iran.

Officials have said US assistance has included intelligence sharing, target identification and planning for the latest offensive against the Houthis.

On Saturday, Saudi Arabia said its foreign minister and Omani counterpart spoke by phone about the importance of “supporting diplomatic solutions to de-escalate tensions” in the region. Oman, which lies across the Strait of Hormuz from Iran, has played a mediator role at times in the region.

Meanwhile, Saudi authorities warned the public this week that “filming, publishing or sharing information related to countering missiles and drones and their impact sites exposes you to legal liability”.

The Houthis this week warned global airlines “for the last time” about the potential consequences of operating in Saudi airspace, which they described as a theatre for their military operations.

At least 291 flights at the Riyadh airport had been cancelled over the past 24 hours, according to flight-tracking site FlightAware. Before the latest attack, Air India, FlyDubai, Lufthansa Group and Pakistan International Airlines were among airlines suspending flights to and from Riyadh and other Saudi airports for varying periods.

The European Union Aviation Safety Agency had expanded its guidance on Saudi airspace, noting the Houthis’ ability to strike targets deeper inside the kingdom, including Riyadh, and a “greater focus on aviation infrastructure.”

The missile and drone attacks and interception efforts “create an increased risk of misidentification of civil aircraft”, it said.

Two regional officials said Houthi attacks on the Riyadh airport on Thursday damaged three planes. The officials spoke on condition of anonymity because they weren’t authorised to brief the media. The Saudi national carrier said one of its aircraft was damaged while it was on the ground, with no passengers on board.

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