Regular Edition · Mon 26 Oct 2026
Geopolitics (Front page)
Houthis Say They Targeted Saudi Oil Infrastructure and Riyadh Airport; No Immediate Saudi Confirmation
Yemen's Houthis said on Monday they struck pumping stations on Saudi Arabia's East-West crude pipeline and Riyadh's main airport. Saudi Arabia did not immediately confirm the claims.
Chanan Zevin - Chief Editor and Head of Desks
Published
What the Houthis claimed
Houthi military spokesman Yahya Saree said on X that the group fired a ballistic missile at King Khalid International Airport in Riyadh and launched drones at crude oil pumping stations along the East-West pipeline, Anadolu Agency reported. Reuters said there was no immediate Saudi confirmation of the attacks.
What the coalition said
The Saudi-led coalition in Yemen said it had destroyed two ballistic missile launchers in Sanaa, including one used to fire a missile toward Riyadh that it said was intercepted. Coalition spokesman Major General Turki Al-Maliki confirmed the interception, according to Anadolu.
Why the pipeline matters
The roughly 1,200-km East-West pipeline runs from the Abqaiq area to Yanbu on the Red Sea and gives Saudi Arabia an overland export route that avoids the Strait of Hormuz. Reuters noted that the kingdom temporarily shut the pipeline in September after a drone attack, and that the route has carried key Middle East exports while Hormuz has been largely shut by the war.
The airport
King Khalid International Airport resumed operations at two terminals on Sunday. It had halted operations on 10 October after an attack claimed by the Houthis killed 13 people, the deadliest in the kingdom in more than a decade, Reuters reported. Flightradar24 data showed little traffic on Sunday.
Sources
- Reuters via Al-Monitor, 'Houthis say they attacked Saudi oil pumping stations, Riyadh airport as fighting intensifies', 26 October 2026 · al-monitor.com
- Anadolu Agency, 'Yemen's Houthis say they targeted Riyadh airport and Saudi oil pipeline', 26 October 2026 · aa.com.tr
- Reuters via The Express Tribune, 'Houthis say they attacked East-West oil pumping stations; no Saudi confirmation', 26 October 2026 · tribune.com.pk