Houthis threaten US interests if Washington joins Yemen war

A senior Houthi official has warned the United States of a “swift and painful response” against its interests across the region if it joins the war in Yemen, as Saudi Arabia keeps Riyadh’s main airport closed after the deadliest attack on its soil in more than a decade.

“If the US becomes involved in the aggression against Yemen, we will not deliberate over the decision to respond; rather, there will be a swift and painful response targeting the US and all its interests in the region,” Houthi political bureau member Mohammed Al Bukhaiti told AFP, Dawn reported.

He also warned “all employees and workers at Saudi oil facilities and airports to stay away from these sites, as they have become legitimate targets”.

Trump weighs joining Saudi strikes

The warning came after a Houthi strike on Riyadh’s King Khalid International Airport on Saturday killed 13 people and wounded hundreds. US President Donald Trump said he was considering joining Saudi strikes against the Houthis, after reportedly turning down earlier requests from the kingdom.

“The Houthis are misbehaving very badly. They’re misbehaving very badly. No good,” Trump said on Monday. He called the attack “not acceptable” and said he would speak to Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman.

More missiles over Saudi Arabia

Explosions were heard over Riyadh again on Monday night. The Saudi-led coalition said it had intercepted a Houthi missile, while the group said it had again targeted the airport. The coalition later said it had destroyed two ballistic missiles fired towards Khamis Mushait, a city with a Saudi military base.

Phones in Riyadh received a government alert warning of a “hostile aerial threat”, the first such alert in weeks. It delayed the kick-off of Al Nassr’s match against Uzbekistan’s Neftchi Fergana.

Saudi Energy Minister Prince Abdulaziz bin Salman told a conference in Riyadh that recent events had “tested our infrastructure, our institutions, our people, and our resilience”. “The events of recent weeks are serious, our response must be equally serious,” he said.

Airport shut until Friday

A notice to airmen showed King Khalid International Airport will stay closed until 2100 GMT on October 17, ARY News reported, citing Reuters. Another attack on Sunday killed one person and injured nearly a dozen.

• Cancellations: 46.4 percent of flights across all Saudi airports were cancelled, according to aviation analytics firm Cirium
• Airlines: Lufthansa Group cancelled Riyadh flights until October 16, Air France-KLM until the end of the month, and Etihad and Gulf Air also suspended services
• Delta: pushed back the launch of its Atlanta to Riyadh route, due on October 23, to March 2027
• US embassy: told US government employees to seek its approval before using any Saudi airport

“This level of sustained intense attack on civil aviation is unprecedented,” said Mark Zee, founder of aviation safety group OPSGROUP.

UN human rights chief Volker Turk said he was “appalled by the repeated attacks” on Saudi Arabia but urged both sides to de-escalate, warning that “continued fighting will only unleash further misery with no end in sight”.

Why it matters

Pakistan has stood firmly with Saudi Arabia and condemned the attacks on the kingdom. A US entry into the war could widen the conflict further, with direct consequences for Pakistanis who live and work in the kingdom and for pilgrims travelling there. Read our reports on Pakistan’s condemnation of the Riyadh airport strike and on the US aviation warning for Saudi Arabia.

This article draws on reporting by Dawn, AFP, ARY News and Reuters.