The deadliest attack on a Gulf Arab state since the start of the Iran war raised new questions Sunday about whether the United States might be about to join another conflict in the region. The missile strike on Saudi Arabia’s main international airport drew widespread condemnation and intensified pressure on the kingdom and its allies to respond to the Iran-backed Houthi rebels. The attack was the deadliest to hit the kingdom in a decade, and marked a sharp escalation in the Yemen-based Houthis’ campaign against the leading oil exporter that has already rattled the global economy.
President Donald Trump indicated it could now prompt America to join the fight, weeks after the conflict between the Houthis and a Saudi-led coalition reignited alongside the unresolved clash between Washington and Tehran. At least 12 people were killed and 309 injured when the missile attack hit King Khalid International Airport in the capital Riyadh on Saturday, according to Saudi civil aviation authorities. The victims included one American as well as four citizens of Saudi Arabia, two Bangladeshi nationals, an Egyptian, a Jordanian, a Palestinian, a Syrian and one Sudanese.
Some of the wounded were in critical condition, authorities said, while airport operations remained suspended Sunday. Saudi Arabia’s government and its allies blamed the Houthis for Saturday’s strike. The group did not immediately claim responsibility for the latest attack, although it renewed a warning to stay away from Saudi airports.
Washington also blamed the Houthis for Saturday’s assault, the latest of several in the past week on the busy facility. Three people were killed there in an attack on Thursday. The attack has placed fresh scrutiny on Washington’s response to the widening conflict, which has seen the Houthis hit Saudi energy infrastructure and seize territory that gives them leverage over shipping in the Red Sea.
Trump said Saturday that the U.S. was considering joining Saudi military operations against the Houthis, leaving open the possibility of direct American involvement. We’re gonna look at it,” Trump told reporters. So we’ll make a decision.
We move very quickly.” Trump responds to potential U.S. involvement after Saudi attack The U.S. launched a three-month bombing campaign against the Houthis last year to stop them from targeting shipping through the critical waterway, an alternative to the Strait of Hormuz. The Saudis will be looking to allies like Pakistan, Turkey, Syria, Egypt and the U.S. for help, said Fawaz Gerges, a professor of International Relations at the London School of Economics. Egypt said Sunday that it “stands firmly” with Saudi Arabia, expressing “strong condemnation” for the attacks. ” Qatar called the missile strike “a grave violation of Saudi Arabia’s sovereignty and a direct threat to regional security.” Germany and Canada also condemned the attacks, with Prime Minister Mark Carney describing them as “abhorrent.” Secretary-General of the United Nations António Guterres blamed the Houthis, calling the attack “a violation of international law.” The Saudi-led coalition fighting the Houthis called the attack a “fully-fledged war crime” and vowed a strong response.
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