Houthi missiles at Saudi Arabia intercepted as Riyadh airport reopens

Key takeaways

• The Saudi-led coalition said it destroyed a Houthi ballistic missile aimed at Riyadh, a drone over the Riyadh region and a cruise missile aimed at Khamis Mushait on Sunday, October 25.
• The coalition later said it intercepted 10 more ballistic missiles fired toward southern Saudi Arabia; Saudi Civil Defence reported two people injured by falling debris.
• Riyadh's King Khalid International Airport restarted international flights from Terminal 2 on Sunday, while the Houthis called the airport a "military target."
• The Houthis claim they hit an Aramco facility in Yanbu, the Rabigh refinery and the East-West pipeline; Saudi Arabia has not confirmed any of these strikes.

Saudi air defences intercepted a new wave of Houthi missiles and drones fired at Saudi Arabia on Sunday, October 25, including a ballistic missile aimed at Riyadh, as King Khalid International Airport resumed international flights for the first time since October 10.

The latest Houthi missiles on Saudi Arabia come after a weekend in which debris also fell in Mecca province, and as the Yemeni group keeps claiming strikes on oil sites that matter to global supply. The Houthis are an Iran-backed armed group, and the attacks are unfolding alongside the wider US-Iran confrontation covered in our report on Trump's warning that the US could strike Iran.

What happened on October 25

Coalition spokesman Maj. Gen. Turki al-Maliki said forces intercepted and destroyed a ballistic missile aimed at Riyadh on Sunday morning local time (UTC+3), along with a drone in the Riyadh region and a cruise missile aimed at Khamis Mushait, a city in the southwest, according to Al Jazeera. Explosions were heard in the capital.

Later on Sunday, the coalition said it had intercepted 10 ballistic missiles fired toward southern Saudi Arabia. Saudi Civil Defence said debris from two missiles destroyed over Khamis Mushait and Ahad Rafidah injured two people and damaged three residential buildings and seven vehicles, Al Jazeera reported. CNBC also reported the Sunday interceptions.

Riyadh airport reopens to international flights

A statement from Riyadh airport issued late on Saturday said international flights would resume from Terminal 2 on Sunday, with Terminal 1 handling domestic flights. Operations at King Khalid International Airport were halted on October 10. A limited number of Saudi carriers had resumed domestic flights from about October 21, according to AP, while airlines including Lufthansa and Air France had cancelled flights through mid-November.

Houthi military spokesman Yahya Saree said the airport remained "unsafe" and a "military target," and warned airlines, staff and travellers against using it, according to Al Jazeera.

Timeline: claims and Saudi statements

What we know and what we don't know yet

• Known: Saudi authorities report interceptions over Riyadh, Khamis Mushait, Ahad Rafidah and, on Saturday, the Mecca and Medina regions. Some debris fell in Wadi Mughamas outside Mecca, according to Saudi Civil Defence as cited by The Nation.
• Known: The Houthis denied targeting Mecca or Medina, calling the Saudi account a "huge lie," Al Jazeera reported.
• Not confirmed: The Houthi claim that they hit an Aramco facility in Yanbu, the Rabigh refinery and the East-West crude pipeline. No Saudi official has confirmed physical damage at Yanbu.
• Unclear: The exact death toll from the October 10 airport strike. Al Jazeera says 13 people were killed and more than 300 wounded; other reports put the figure at 12. The coalition's tally of 17 dead covers all airport attacks from October 7 to 11.

Background: why Saudi Arabia is under fire

Saudi Arabia backs Yemen's internationally recognised government against the Houthis, also known as Ansar Allah. The war escalated in September when the Houthis seized territory along the Red Sea coast from government-aligned forces, according to Al Jazeera. On Sunday, Houthi forces advanced on Jabal Sabr, a mountain overlooking the besieged city of Taiz, and the UN warned that "time is running out" to reach about 800,000 people trapped there.

The Houthis also accused Saudi Arabia of killing 16 people in strikes on Sanaa and a Red Sea port city. That figure has not been independently verified.

What it means for oil

Yanbu is the reason the Houthi claims move markets. Since the Strait of Hormuz was effectively closed in early March, Yanbu's Red Sea export terminal has been Saudi Arabia's main crude outlet, according to Argus. The port also hosts three refineries, including the 400,000-barrel-a-day Samref plant run with ExxonMobil.

The Houthi claim on Yanbu and Shaybah on October 19 briefly pushed ICE Brent futures above $110 a barrel for the first time since mid-May, Argus reported, even though the facilities were reported intact. Brent settled at $109.55 that day (data as of the October 19, 2026 settlement), according to The Nation. Oil futures do not trade on Sunday, so the first market reaction to this weekend's attacks will come when trading reopens. Read more on the Strait of Hormuz and Iran.

For Riyadh, the airport reopening is a test of whether air defences can keep the capital running. For airlines, the Houthi warning adds risk to every decision to return to the Saudi capital.