Yemen’s Houthis claimed on Monday, October 26, that they had attacked Riyadh’s airport and Saudi oil pumping stations, as the Saudi-led coalition reported intercepting a missile fired toward the Saudi capital. The claims, if confirmed, would mark a further escalation in the conflict. The latest fighting has effectively ended a UN-brokered truce that had largely held since 2022, according to background reporting on the conflict.
According to the Straits Times, the Houthis said they had attacked Saudi Arabia’s East-West crude oil pumping stations and Riyadh airport. There was no immediate Saudi confirmation of those attacks.
The Hindu reported that the Saudi-led coalition said it had intercepted and destroyed a ballistic missile fired by the Houthis toward Riyadh. The coalition also said it had destroyed two ballistic missile launchers in Sanaa. Houthi military spokesman Yahya Saree said the group had "successfully targeted" the Riyadh airport with a ballistic missile and had struck oil pumping stations with drones, according to The Hindu.
The two accounts differ on whether the missile reached the airport. The Houthis say it did; the coalition says its air defences destroyed the missile before it arrived.
The coalition also said on October 26 that it had destroyed five tunnels used to store ballistic missiles, four ballistic missile launchers and a missile storage facility in Yemen, according to the Straits Times. Coalition spokesperson Turki al-Maliki pledged continued operations against the Houthis.
The airport had already been disrupted. According to the Straits Times, King Khalid International Airport resumed operations at two terminals on October 25, after an earlier attack claimed by the Houthis killed 13 people and injured more than 300.
Background reporting says the Houthis have fired ballistic missiles and drones at Saudi airports, ports and oil installations. Saudi Arabia intensified its strikes after the Houthis captured strategic areas along Yemen’s Red Sea coast in September, advancing toward the Bab el-Mandeb Strait. The airport closure forced the postponement of the kingdom’s investment conference until 2027.
Separately, the Straits Times reported, citing two people with knowledge of the matter, that top officials from Saudi Arabia, Turkey and Pakistan were set to meet Iranian officials in Tehran on October 26 to discuss regional coordination. The outcome of those talks was not yet known, and only pre-meeting reports were available.
Several key points remain unconfirmed. Saudi authorities have not confirmed the Houthi claims about the East-West pipeline, pumping stations, Aramco’s Yanbu facility or Rabigh refinery, according to the Straits Times. The Hindu reported a Houthi claim of "dozens of casualties" in Aden and Lahj governorates, but no independent source has confirmed it. No official figure on injuries from the October 26 attack has been released, and no direct statement from Riyadh airport authorities was included in the reporting. The main accounts so far come from English-language wire and regional outlets, with the Straits Times and The Hindu as the primary sources.
What happens next is not yet clear. Officials from Saudi Arabia, Turkey and Pakistan are expected to meet Iranian officials in Tehran, and the coalition has pledged to continue operations against the Houthis.
Sources
This article was written with AI assistance from the published reporting listed above. It is part of the World Brief daily news podcast.