Smoke and flames rise from King Khalid Airport, after Yemen's Iran-aligned Houthis said they attacked the airport, in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, October 8, 2026, in this screengrab obtained from a social media video. ยฉ Social Media via Reuters
Saudi Arabia's civil aviation body extended the suspension of operations at Riyadh's international airport Monday following a series of deadly attacks by Yemen's Iran-aligned Houthi rebels over the weekend. The statement announcing the decision did not specify when operations would resume. Follow our liveblog for the latest developments.
Saudi-led coalition says it's dealing with drones and missiles heading towards kingdom
The Saudi-led coalition battling โ Yemen's Houthis said it was dealing โwith drones and โmissiles heading towards Saudi Arabia.
Iran says it is 'deeply concerned' over escalation between Houthis and Saudi Arabia
Iran said it was "deeply concerned" by escalating attacks between Yemen's Tehran-allied Houthis and Saudi Arabia after 14 people died in two days of strikes on Riyadh's airport.
"We are deeply concerned about the developments taking place in the Arabian Peninsula," foreign ministry spokesman Esmaeil Baghaei told a weekly press conference, adding that Tehran was ready "to help facilitate dialogue between the parties".
EU adopts nearly 1,600 new sanctions listings targeting Russian war industry, Kallas says
The European Union on Monday formally added almost 1,600 new individuals and entities to its sanctions blacklist over Russia's war on Ukraine.
"This is the single largest expansion of our sanctions list since Russia started its war. Europe is again showing a united front. More than half are connected to the production chain for ballistic missiles," EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas said.
Zelensky says Ukraine 'will respond' if Russia does not agree to Trump's 'energy ceasefire'
Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelensky said that his country would retaliate if Moscow did not agree to the "energy ceasefire" that US President Donald Trump unilaterally announced on Sunday.
"If Russia does not agree to an energy ceasefire, we will respond," Zelensky said in a video address to a security forum in Warsaw. "If Russia wants us to stop our long-range strikes against its oil refineries and oil exports, then Russia must stop its strikes against our energy system and critical infrastructure and stop killing our people."
Iran still reviewing US positions on its diplomatic proposal, foreign ministry says
Iran โis still โreviewing a US response to its โproposal โregarding โ the reopening โof the Strait of โ Hormuz and will reply โto Washington โvia intermediaries when the review โis over, โforeign ministry spokesperson Esmaeil Baghaei said.
Baghaei also โtold a โpress conference โthat Iran continues to exchange messages via โ the intermediaries.
Riyadh airport extends suspension of operations, civil aviation authority says
Saudi Arabia's civil aviation body extended the suspension of operations at Riyadh's international airport Monday following a series of deadly Houthi attacks.
"The General Authority of Civil Aviation has announced the extension of the suspension of operations at King Khalid International Airport in Riyadh in order to complete the necessary procedures to verify the safety of the facilities and their operational readiness," the authority said in a statement.
It did not specify when operations would resume.
China says it 'condemns' Houthi attacks on Saudi Arabia
China condemned recent attacks by the Houthis on Saudi Arabia, expressing "serious concern" about the intensifying conflict between Riyadh and the Yemeni group.
"China condemns the attacks that caused heavy casualties and expresses serious concern over the intensification of the conflict," foreign ministry spokeswoman Mao Ning told a regular briefing.
Saudi energy minister says kingdom must make 'serious' response to Houthi attacks
Saudi โEnergy โMinister Prince Abdulaziz bin Salman said โthe โevents โ of โrecent weeks were serious โ and the kingdom's โresponse must โbe "equally serious".
Yemen's โHouthis have stepped โup their attacks on the kingdom, killing โmore than โ15 โpeople in โtwo weeks.
UAE adviser Gargash urges revival of joint ties on Gulf security, defence
Emirati โpresidential adviser โAnwar Gargash called on Gulf countries to strengthen their security cooperation, saying that targeting Saudi โArabia undermined โthe security of all Gulf states.
"It is necessary to revive joint action by the Gulf countries, particularly in security and defence, and to strengthen the collective security system," Gargash wrote on X.
Neglect of โcollective โGulf security โhad "emboldened others" to โoverreach against regional states, he added.
Yemen's Houthi rebels claimed responsibility for a series of attacks on Saudi Arabia'sย King Khalid Airport in Riyadh. An earlier Houthi strike on Saturday killed at least 12 people and wounded hundreds more.
The United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations said โโ that it reclassified an โincident in the vicinity of โ Sohar anchorage in Oman as โan attack after confirmation โthat the tanker was struck by โa drone.
Saudi Arabia's foreign โminister spoke with his Iranian counterpart about the recent escalation of the regional โconflict โand efforts to โ lower tensions, the Saudi state news agency โreported.
