Saudi Arabia's military said it has destroyed 136 military targets belonging to the Houthi movement, according to Yonhap News. Brigadier General Turki al-Maliki, a spokesman for the Saudi-led coalition, said in a post on X that forces were carrying out a large-scale operation aimed at the Houthi "terrorist armed organization's" manpower and capabilities, and that 136 military objectives had been destroyed in areas the group controls.
The announcement followed a series of missile attacks on Saudi territory. According to Yonhap News, King Khalid International Airport in the capital Riyadh and Abha International Airport in the southwest were hit by Houthi missile fire on October 6 and 7, killing three people. King Khalid airport was struck again by a ballistic missile on October 8.
Why it matters
The strikes have landed on the Saudi capital's main airport and on a second international gateway within days of each other, and the death toll has turned a long-running cross-border exchange into a direct threat to civilian aviation and to the country's flagship business events.
Riyadh is scheduled to host the World Petroleum Council's energy conference on October 12, Yonhap News reports. The Future Investment Initiative, widely referred to as "Davos in the desert," is set to run for four days starting October 26. Both gatherings depend on international executives flying into the city.
The Financial Times reported that the United Kingdom issued a travel warning covering Riyadh and other parts of Saudi Arabia, and that several airlines suspended flights to the capital, according to Yonhap News. The FT said executives at major global companies are weighing whether to attend the two events given the heightened risk.
The same report said several energy industry executives intend to take part in next week's WPC event, mindful that, in the words cited by the FT, Saudi Arabia remembers who was a friend during difficult times. Those executives are said to be delaying their decisions until as late as possible.
A widening set of claimed targets
The Houthis have claimed responsibility for a broader wave of attacks. According to Yonhap News, the group said on October 5 that it had struck King Khalid International Airport, the Aramco refinery in the western coastal city of Rabigh, Abha airport in the southwest, the nearby Khamis Mushait air base, and military facilities in the Asir, Najran and Jazan regions.
That list spans aviation, oil infrastructure and military sites across several parts of the kingdom, suggesting the group's reach extends well beyond the border area where much of the recent fighting has been concentrated.
Saudi officials have framed their response as a campaign against the Houthis' ability to launch such attacks, rather than a single retaliatory strike. Al-Maliki's statement described an ongoing operation against both personnel and capabilities, and put the number of destroyed targets at 136 without giving a timeframe or a breakdown by location.
Regional alignments under strain
The exchanges come amid a shifting regional picture. One South Korean outlet, Kyunghyang Shinmun, described the situation as an Iran war from which the United States has taken a step back, and framed it as a test for what it called a "Middle East version of NATO." That characterization is the outlet's own analysis, not a statement from any government.
Separately, KBS News reported that Turkey is reviewing whether to provide air defense support to Saudi Arabia after the second consecutive day of attacks on Riyadh's airport. The Dong-A Ilbo reported that Syria is considering deploying 20,000 troops to take part in what it described as Saudi Arabia's operation to repel the Houthis. Neither report has been confirmed by Saudi officials in the material available.
Seoul Economic Daily, meanwhile, reported on domestic political calculations in Washington, saying the Iran conflict is unfavorable for polling and that a decision on it may be kept quiet until November 3. That item reflects the outlet's reporting on U.S. politics rather than any announced policy.
What to watch
The immediate question is whether the attacks on Saudi airports continue and whether airlines restore Riyadh routes before the WPC meeting on October 12 and the FII gathering beginning October 26. Attendance at both events, and the travel advisories still in force, will be the clearest signal of how seriously foreign governments and companies are treating the risk.
