Attacks by 'Iran’s proxies' pushing region into spiral of violence, says EU on Riyadh airport strike
European Union leaders have condemned the alleged Houthi attack on Saudi Arabia's King Khalid International Airport in Riyadh, which killed at least 12 people and injured more than 300.
EU warned that strikes by "Iran’s proxies" risk pushing the region into a wider cycle of violence.
European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen described the attack as a “dangerous escalation” and called on the Houthis to stop targeting civilian infrastructure.
“These attacks by Iran’s proxies are pushing the region into a spiral of violence. They are destabilising crucial global transport and energy nodes with shockwaves sent through the world. These murderous attacks on civilians must stop at once,” the EU chief wrote on X on Sunday.
She added that the EU stood in “solidarity with Saudi Arabia”.
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The Saudi-led coalition blamed Yemen’s Houthi movement for the Saturday attack, describing it as a “full-fledged war crime”.
Saudi Arabia's General Authority of Civil Aviation said in a statement that four Saudi citizens, two Bangladeshis, one American, one Egyptian, one Jordanian, one Syrian, one Palestinian and one Sudanese were killed in the attack.
The authority said some of the wounded were in critical condition and that all were receiving medical care at several hospitals.
Hospitals were flooded with wounded brought by ambulance and helicopter, people briefed on the matter told Reuters.
On Wednesday, Houthis claimed responsibility for two separate strikes on Riyadh and Abha airports, which killed one person and wounded others.
On Sunday, the Houthis renewed warnings to airlines, airport workers and travellers against using Saudi airports and airspace.
Saturday's strike was the third attack on King Khalid International Airport in a week, following earlier strikes that killed four people and damaged a Saudi commercial aircraft, according to Reuters.
Flight-tracking site Flightradar24 showed all flights to Riyadh had either been diverted or cancelled, with only a helicopter hovering over the airport at one point.
The latest attack marks a sharp escalation in the conflict between Saudi Arabia and the Houthi movement in Yemen, amid renewed fighting and a Saudi-led military offensive against the group.
EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas also condemned the strike, describing it as an “appalling act of terror”.
“There can be no justification for indiscriminate attacks on civilians and civilian infrastructure,” Kallas wrote on X.
She said she was in close contact with her Saudi counterpart and stressed that closer cooperation between the EU’s naval mission in the Red Sea and a Saudi-led maritime coalition was “vital”.
The comments come as attacks on Saudi Arabia threaten regional security and international transport routes.
The Red Sea and the Bab al-Mandeb Strait are strategic routes for commercial shipping linking the Indian Ocean with the Mediterranean through the Suez Canal.
The renewed escalation has also raised concerns about the wider impact of the conflict on energy supplies, shipping and civilian aviation.
In an advisory issued earlier on Saturday, King Khalid Airport urged passengers to contact their airlines directly and check their flight status before heading to the airport amid reports of disruptions to air traffic, without specifying the cause of the disruptions.
The US embassy in Saudi Arabia urged Americans to avoid the airport and surrounding areas.
Following reports of the latest attack, US President Donald Trump was asked by reporters outside the White House whether Washington planned to join the Saudi strikes on the Houthis.
“We may. We’re going to look at it. We just found out about the recent attack, so we’ll make a decision. We move very quickly,” he said.
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