Saudis reel from attacks as allies debate ‘involvement’

RIYADH, 9 OCTOBER 2026 —

Saudi Arabia’s airspace and oil infrastructure came under a coordinated Houthi missile barrage on Thursday, prompting the suspension of flights to Riyadh by Lufthansa and Air India and causing damage to a kindergarten and a medical‑clinic complex in the capital.

The attacks, which the Houthi movement said targeted King Khalid International Airport, an airport in Najran and the Khamis Mushait airbase, triggered the largest wave of flight cancellations in recent months and revived debate among members of the Makkah Joint Defence Agreement over whether the pact obliges them to intervene directly in the Yemen conflict.

The missile strikes disrupted civilian travel, threatened Saudi oil output and forced multinational firms in Riyadh’s King Abdullah Financial District to send staff home or evacuate premises. The incident also sharpened divergent interpretations of the defence pact signed by Saudi Arabia, Turkey and Pakistan, with Ankara insisting the agreement is strictly defensive while Islamabad argued it permits “direct involvement” if a member is threatened.

According to aviation analytics firm Cirium, 49.7 per cent of scheduled departures from King Khalid International Airport had been cancelled by 1500 GMT on Thursday, and a further 31 cancellations were expected across Saudi airports on Friday. Flight‑tracking service FlightRadar24 recorded numerous delayed arrivals and departures, although the airport did not issue an official statement, referring only to the “necessity” of contacting airlines before travelling.

A video verified by Reuters showed a thick black column of smoke and flames rising from the Riyadh airport. A witness and three briefed sources said a stationary commercial aircraft had caught fire, producing the plume before the blaze was extinguished. Houthi spokesman Yahya Saree claimed the group launched two ballistic missiles at Riyadh’s airport, one at Najran’s airport and another at the Khamis Mushait airbase.

He also ordered workers at Saudi oil facilities to evacuate, days after the Houthis struck a major refinery south of the capital.

The Saudi‑led coalition said it intercepted and destroyed two ballistic missiles aimed at Riyadh and a third aimed at Khamis Mushait. Saudi civil‑defence officials posted on X that “interception debris” had fallen in Riyadh, causing material damage to a kindergarten and a medical‑clinic complex, though they did not confirm any casualties.

The explosions reverberated across the city, prompting several multinational companies in the King Abdullah Financial District to instruct employees to work from home or to evacuate. Diplomatic missions were told to shelter in place, and at least one international school moved children to a basement for safety.

The attacks arrived as Saudi Arabia pressed regional allies for support to reverse recent Houthi gains in Yemen. Members of the Makkah Joint Defence Agreement, convened after an emergency meeting in Riyadh earlier this week, have agreed to rapid deployment of military forces and capabilities to the kingdom. Yet the scope of that commitment remains contested.

Turkey’s foreign minister, Hakan Fidan, ruled out any deployment of Turkish troops to Yemen. “This is a defence agreement,” he said. “If one of the countries is attacked, you support its defence. This is not an offensive agreement.” He added that Turkey “will not send its troops to another country’s territory to launch an attack.”

Pakistan’s defence minister, Khawaja Asif, offered a broader reading. Speaking to ARY News, he said no clause in the Makkah pact bars alliance members from becoming “directly involved” if a member faces a threat. “To defend one of the member countries, the remaining two would get involved as if they were defending themselves,” he told the broadcaster.

In a separate interview with Geo News, Asif noted that while Pakistan and Turkey have a “presence in the theatre”, only Saudi forces are currently engaged in combat operations.

Pakistan’s Ministry of Information on Thursday dismissed a New York Times report alleging that Pakistan Air Force aircraft were being used against the Houthis as “fake and fabricated”. The ministry had earlier described a Reuters report claiming the deployment of 30,000 to 40,000 Pakistani troops as “speculative”. It urged “international media houses” to avoid speculative reporting on the employment of Pakistan’s military forces under the Makkah agreement.

Syria, meanwhile, is reportedly weighing options for military support, either defensive assistance to Saudi Arabia or an offensive deployment against the Houthis, according to U.S. and Syrian defence officials. A Syrian diplomat said any cooperation would be conducted “exclusively through official channels and within the framework of the bilateral agreements governing relations between our two brotherly countries.”

The missile barrage also sent oil markets into a brief surge. Brent crude futures rose $3.48, or 3.5 per cent, to $103.73 a barrel by 1641 GMT, while U.S. West Texas Intermediate gained $2.69, or 3.1 per cent, to $91 a barrel. Prices later pared gains after U.S. President Donald Trump announced that the United States would not launch an attack on Iran before the mid‑term congressional elections in November.

The combined effect of the attacks, flight suspensions and the diplomatic wrangling over the Makkah pact shows the heightened volatility facing Saudi Arabia’s transport and energy sectors. With nearly half of Riyadh’s scheduled departures cancelled and key infrastructure damaged, airlines and businesses are likely to reassess risk exposure in the kingdom.

The next steps hinge on how the alliance members interpret their obligations. Turkey has signalled it will limit its role to defensive support, while Pakistan maintains that the pact permits direct action if a member is threatened. Syrian officials have hinted at possible cooperation, but no concrete deployment has been announced.

As Saudi Arabia seeks to shore up its airspace and protect its oil facilities, the evolving stance of its allies will shape the kingdom’s capacity to respond to further Houthi strikes and to sustain the flow of passengers and hydrocarbons that underpin the regional economy.