Iran's Houthi allies step up deadly attacks on Saudi Arabia

Three Saudi citizens died and several other people were injured on Thursday during strikes that hit King Khalid International Airport in Riyadh, Saudi civil aviation officials announced. The assault damaged airport infrastructure and hit an unoccupied plane belonging to national carrier Saudia Airlines, marking a notable escalation in the ongoing regional conflict.

The country's General Authority of Civil Aviation reported that the dead included an airline captain, identified by Saudia Group as Hamoud Ali Alkalthami. Airline officials later honored the pilot's long professional career and extended sympathy to his family. Several people of various nationalities sustained injuries ranging from minor to critical.

While Saudi authorities did not formally name the culprits behind Thursday's airport strikes, Yemen's Iran-aligned Houthi faction claimed responsibility for hitting the Riyadh aviation hub with ballistic missiles on the same day. The group had issued warnings to international air carriers earlier in the week, telling them to avoid entering Saudi airspace. The fatal incident followed another round of strikes a day earlier against airports in Riyadh and Abha that also resulted in three fatalities.

The cross-border attacks come amid a major military campaign initiated last weekend by Saudi Arabia and its allies in Yemen designed to regain ground from Houthi forces. The clash has quickly emerged as an intense focal point in the larger war across the region, which widened following joint American and Israeli strikes on Iran in late February.

In response to the mounting regional tensions, Pakistan confirmed on Friday that it maintains a sizable military presence stationed in Saudi Arabia for defensive duties. Foreign ministry spokesman Sajjad Haider Khan told reporters that Pakistani troops and materials stationed in Riyadh are strictly assigned to protect Saudi soil and will not cross borders to take offensive actions against the Houthis. Khan pointed out that the military partnership traces back to the 1980s, alongside a tripartite mutual defense pact signed in August between Pakistan, Turkey, and Saudi Arabia.

Diplomatic maneuvers continue to develop alongside the fighting. Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian stated during a meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin that Tehran has updated its proposals to restart peace discussions with Washington through third-party mediators. Pezeshkian claimed the initiative aims to halt the war while protecting Iranian rights, though he accused the United States of disrupting previous negotiations with military strikes. U.S. President Donald Trump had earlier turned down an Iranian seven-day negotiation framework presented in late September.

Meanwhile, global oil markets showed signs of relief. Brent crude dropped to roughly $103 per barrel on Friday following assurances from Trump that American forces would pause attacks against Iran ahead of upcoming midterm elections, with the U.S. president pointing to constructive conversations with Tehran. Separately, the aircraft carrier USS Abraham Lincoln arrived back at its home base in San Diego on Thursday, wrapping up a deployment of more than ten months that included extensive operations throughout the Middle East.