The Iran-backed group’s attacks have disrupted sports tournaments and threatened business events that the kingdom has long used to attract investment and raise its profile.
Saudi Arabia’s capital, Riyadh, has been rocked by Houthi attacks in recent weeks that have forced the authorities to close the city’s main international airport.
The attack came after the Yemeni militia warned it would attack the headquarters of Aramco. The Saudi-led coalition said it was targeting Houthi capabilities.
The Saudi authorities said they were fending off drone and missile attacks after a weekend of confrontation with the Houthi militia in Yemen, whose patrons Iran offered to mediate.
At least one person was killed in the Saudi capital, Riyadh, kingdom authorities said. The Houthis said Saudi aircraft hit the Yemeni capital’s airport.
Three deadly attacks by the Iran-backed Houthis in Yemen on an airport in the Saudi capital underscored the asymmetrical nature of their conflict with the kingdom.
Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman of Saudi Arabia in Paris in August. Houthi strikes on the Saudi capital, Riyadh, have cast a shadow on his efforts to transform the kingdom into a global hub for business and tourism.
The strike on Saturday was the deadliest attack in a Gulf Arab country since the U.S.-Israeli war with Iran began in February, and forced the airport to temporarily suspend operations.
The escalating violence has brought the conflict in Yemen to the doorstep of the Saudi capital, and the kingdom has no easy options to curtail the increasingly sophisticated and targeted strikes.
A still from a video obtained from social media and verified by The New York Times showing a blast at King Khalid Airport in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, on Thursday.
The Saudi authorities said they intercepted two missiles targeting Riyadh, a day after they said Houthi strikes on airports in the kingdom killed three people.
Residents of Saudi Arabia’s capital reported hearing booms on Thursday, a day after the Saudi government said two women and a Sudanese man died in strikes on two airports.
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