War returns to Iran with Israel, US strikes

Deadly strikes on civilian airports in Saudi Arabia represent “a grave escalation” by Houthis in Yemen, a UN special envoy has said, AFP reports.

“These attacks represent a grave escalation,” Hans Grundberg, the UN special envoy for Yemen, said in a statement after a strike on Riyadh’s international airport killed at least 12 people. “Such actions pose a serious threat to regional security, perpetuate cycles of violence and complicate even more peace efforts for Yemen.”

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said on Saturday that the United States strongly condemns recent attacks on the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, Reuters reports.

He said an American citizen was killed in the strikes.

“These reprehensible attacks demonstrate a blatant disregard for innocent civilian life. They must stop now,” Rubio wrote on X.

The US military has said it had disabled a commercial cargo vessel in the Gulf of Oman after the ship’s crew ignored warnings and attempted to run a naval blockade against Iran, Reuters reports.

“A US military fighter jet struck the stern of Panama-flagged M/V Ocean Molica (also known as the “Arika Sun”) with a precision munition, fully disabling the ship’s propulsion without harming the crew,” the US Central Command posted on X.

CENTCOM said the cargo vessel had attempted to transit regional waters after leaving an Iranian port.

Reuters was not immediately able to reach the bulk carrier’s operator for comment.

CENTCOM warned mariners in the Gulf of Oman and the approaches to the Strait of Hormuz to heed blockade warnings, monitor notice-to-mariners broadcasts and contact US naval forces.

The attack on Riyadh’s international airport killed at least 12 people and wounded 309 others, some of them seriously, Saudi Arabia’s civil aviation officials said, AFP reports.

Four Saudi citizens were among the dead, as well as two Bangladeshis, one US citizen, one Egyptian, one Jordanian, one Syrian, one Palestinian and one Sudanese, the statement added.

The Saudi-led coalition fighting the Houthis has said that a projectile fell in the vicinity of King Fahd International Airport in Dammam.

At least two people have been killed in an attack on Riyadh airport, a medical source at a local hospital tells AFP.

The source has identified one of the victims as an Egyptian flight attendant working for a Saudi airline, while the second was a Palestinian with Egyptian travel documents.

Another source briefed on the matter, speaking on the condition of anonymity, has confirmed the deaths and the victims’ nationalities.

The Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) Navy claims that a “rogue supertanker” caught fire in a massive blaze after hitting a mine in the Strait of Hormuz, the Fars News Agency reports.

“A supertanker carrying crude oil, which intended to exit the Strait of Hormuz via an unauthorised route, has suffered a severe explosion after entering the declared high-risk path and striking a ‘sea mine’,“ the IRGC claims in a statement.

A senior Western diplomat in the Saudi capital Riyadh tells AFP that several embassies are advising their staff against using King Khalid International Airport for a week following a spate of attacks.

Several Western embassies “indicated that they had decided to prohibit their staff’s travel to/from Riyadh Airport over the next week as a prudential step” the diplomat adds.

Asked whether the US has decided on joining Saudi strikes on Yemen’s Houthis, US President Donald Trump says his administration will look at it.

“We just found out about the recent attack, so we’ll make a decision,” he tells reporters, referring to a Houthi attack on King Khalid International Airport in Riyadh. “We move very quickly.“

Saudi Arabia’s General Authority of Civil Aviation (GACA) says that due to an attack on Riyadh’s King Khalid International Airport this afternoon, operations have been suspended.

“The attack resulted in a number of injuries, the extent of which is currently being assessed,” the GACA statement reads.

“The Authority stated that operational activities at the airport have been temporarily suspended pending a full damage assessment and verification of facility safety, in coordination with the relevant authorities; further updates will be announced in due course.”

The United Arab Emirates National Guard says it has rescued 22 Asian crew members after a fire broke out aboard an oil tanker in Gulf waters, Reuters reports.

The National Guard says its Coast Guard received a distress report from the crew and dispatched specialist teams, which located the vessel.

All of those rescued were in stable condition, it adds, though it has not identified the tanker.

The US embassy in Saudi Arabia says it is aware of attacks on Riyadh’s King Khalid International Airport and calls on American citizens to avoid the area, AFP reports.

“The US mission is aware of attacks on King Khalid International Airport in Riyadh on October 10 and strongly recommends [that] all US citizens avoid this airport and surrounding areas,” the embassy says in a statement posted online.

It further urges US nationals to check their flight status with directly with airlines and the airport, and be aware of potential flight cancellations, airspace closures, and travel disruptions.

The UK’s Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) has issued an advisory urging British nationals to stay away from King Khalid International Airport in the Saudi capital.

“Following a serious incident at King Khalid International Airport on October 10, 2026, at approximately 1500 (local time), we advise British nationals to avoid King Khalid International Airport until the airport is secure and to monitor the advice of the Saudi authorities,” the advisory reads.

It advises against all but essential travel to the kingdom’s Aseer province, Riyadh province, Najran province, Jizan province and Taif city and Taif International Airport, further advising against all travel within 10 kilometres of the border with Yemen.

Doctors are being instructed by the Saudi health ministry to report to hospitals across Riyadh to help address a serious emergency situation, a medical source tells AFP.

“ER doctors are being called to hospitals across Riyadh,” they say. “We were told we are dealing with a ‘serious emergency situation’. Injured are being moved to hospitals across Riyadh.”

An eyewitness at Riyadh’s King Khalid International Airport claims to have seen an explosion and then multiple people lying injured on the ground inside the airport, according to Reuters.

The Canadian, German and Spanish embassies in Saudi Arabia warned their citizens to avoid Riyadh’s international airport after reports it was attacked, AFP reports.

Spain’s embassy, in a message on X, alerted nationals to a “new attack” on the airport, where witnesses earlier told AFP an evacuation was ordered.

A diplomatic source separately told AFP that Yemen’s Houthis had hit the airport with a missile.

Kuwait Airways has cancelled flights to and from the Saudi capital, Riyadh, due to what it describes as the closure of Riyadh airport because of the “security situation”, AFP reports.

At least five people are being treated in an intensive care unit in Riyadh after being injured following a reported explosion at Saudi capital’s King Khalid International Airport, a source at a hospital tells AFP.

“Dozens of people were injured, most of them Saudi nationals. At least five of the injured — all Saudi nationals — are in intensive care,” the source adds, saying some patients were transported by helicopter.

A diplomatic source tells AFP that Yemen’s Houthis struck Riyadh airport with a missile at around 3pm local time.

“Houthis are attacking civilian targets. Riyadh airport is a civilian target,” says the source, who has been briefed on the matter.

Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi says that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, “like a degenerate gambler [is] desperately seeking to save himself with more US blood and treasure”.

In a post on X, Araghchi calls the Israeli PM a “wanted war criminal with Arab, American and Iranian blood on his hands”, adding that, to escape justice, he will hold no regard for the safety of his own people either.

Yemen’s Houthi rebels claim that Saudi Arabia launched four airstrikes on Sanaa International Airport, along with three other strikes targeting a telecommunications network in Al Mahabishah in the country’s Hajjah province, Anadolu reports citing the Houthi-affiliated Al-Masirah TV channel.

There has been no immediate comment from Saudi officials or Yemen’s internationally recognised government regarding the report.

People at Riyadh’s international airport are being evacuated from the facility, three witnesses tell AFP.

One witness reports hearing an explosion while waiting to board a flight, while the other two witnesses are unable to confirm what incident triggered the evacuation.

A loud blast has been heard at the airport in Riyadh, Reuters reports, citing an eyewitness and people briefed on the matter.

The Saudi government media office and the Saudi civil aviation authority did not immediately respond to Reuters’ requests for comment.

AFP, citing three witnesses, said people were being evacuated from the Riyadh airport.

One witness reported hearing an explosion while waiting to board a flight, while the other two witnesses were not able to confirm what incident triggered the evacuation.