Riyadh Airport Closed Again as Saudi Air Defenses Tested by Houthi Attacks
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- Otoritas Saudi memperpanjang penutupan Bandara Internasional King Khalid setelah gelombang serangan rudal Houthi menewaskan satu orang dan merusak fasilitas.
- Serangan sebelumnya pada Sabtu menewaskan 13 orang dan melukai lebih dari 300, memaksa evakuasi dan pengalihan penerbangan.
- Pemerintah Saudi menghadapi tekanan untuk memperkuat pertahanan udara dan mencari solusi diplomatik di tengah konflik Yaman yang berkepanjangan.
Saudi Arabia again extended the closure of all flights to and from King Khalid International Airport in Riyadh on Monday (12/10) after a Houthi missile attack caused additional damage and killed one person. The move came just two days after a deadly attack on Saturday that killed 13 people and wounded more than 300 others.
CCTV footage broadcast on Saudi state television showed passengers queuing in the airport terminal suddenly enveloped in smoke and concrete debris as the missile struck. Saudi aviation authorities said the airport remained closed for a thorough safety verification. A Saudi military spokesman also disclosed that additional missile and drone threats were still being detected.
The closure took place as Saudi Arabia went ahead with the 25th WPC Energy Conference in Riyadh, seeking to project an image of normalcy. Saudi Energy Minister Abdulaziz bin Salman, in his speech, asserted that "fear has no place in the Saudi lexicon," while emphasizing the resilience of the kingdom's energy system and the people's determination in facing the crisis.
An emergency review is underway to determine how Houthi missiles repeatedly penetrated Saudi Arabia's overwhelmed air defenses. Schoolchildren and some office workers were told to work from home. The Houthis also targeted the city of Khamis Mushait and King Fahd International Airport in Dammam. Interceptor missiles are needed to protect government buildings, oil facilities, and infrastructure hubs across a vast geographic area. The Houthis have vowed to attack airports across the country.
Since last month, Houthi attacks have destroyed fuel tanks at Riyadh Airport and related warehouses, destroyed a parked Airbus A320 passenger jet, and damaged at least five other aircraft. Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman has not been seen in public since last Tuesday, reflecting the pressure on him to find a way out of the war that has shadowed his leadership since 2014.
Inside Yemen, fighting continued around Taiz, the third-largest city and most populous province. Saudi aircraft launched eight separate strikes against Houthi troop concentrations. A total of 60 combatants from both sides were killed on Sunday. Taiz Governor Nabil Shamsan called for the lifting of the Houthi siege and warned that medicine shortages would soon leave the city without emergency surgical services and intensive care.
The Houthis claim Saudi Arabia launched 124 strikes on Sunday. Saudi Arabia is trying to track Abdul-Malik al-Houthi, the group's leader, with assassination rumors circulating, but appears to lack current intelligence on his whereabouts in Sana'a or his stronghold in Saada.
On the diplomatic track, Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi spoke with Saudi Foreign Minister Faisal bin Farhan on Sunday to explore the possibility of Iran mediating between Saudi Arabia and the Houthis, a group trained and armed by Iran. A UN Security Council meeting in New York on Tuesday is expected to discuss a resolution designating the Houthis as a foreign terrorist organization.
The exiled leader of the Southern Transitional Council (STC), Aidarous al-Zubaidi, called on southern forces to fight on all fronts, not just defend the borders of the former South Yemen. The move is likely welcomed by Saudi Arabia because it supports the UN-recognized government's call to drive the Houthis out of all of Yemen. The STC envisions an independent South Yemen that would revive the separate state that existed between 1967 and 1990. The STC's authority is challenged by Abd al-Rahman al-Mahrami, a Salafi leader who heads the powerful Southern Giants Brigade.
Although Araghchi sought to reach out to Saudi Arabia, Mohsen Rezaei, the more hardline Secretary of Iran's Supreme National Security Council, claimed Iran attacks five or six small vessels in the Strait of Hormuz every night. He explained that the vessels are used by the Emirati military to transport oil through the strait to larger tankers, thereby violating a blockade Iran wants to maintain to raise oil prices and weaken Donald Trump.
Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Esmail Baghaei said Trump's treatment of Volodymyr Zelenskyy, including his call for the Ukrainian president to resign, shows the risk of dealing with Trump. "Being an enemy of America can be dangerous, but being a friend of America is deadly. You can see for yourself how America's friendship and enmity with its allies work," he said.
For Indonesia, this escalation in the Middle East is a concern because it could affect global crude oil prices and energy supply stability. As an oil importer, Indonesia is vulnerable to price spikes triggered by tensions in the Strait of Hormuz. The government needs to anticipate the impact on energy subsidies and domestic inflation.
Going forward, the big question is whether Saudi Arabia can strengthen its air defenses or will be forced to pursue diplomacy with the Houthis and Iran. Meanwhile, the international community awaits the outcome of the UN Security Council meeting that could change the map of the Yemen conflict.
