Trump Says U.S. May Join Saudi Strikes on Houthis After Riyadh Airport Attack Kills American

President Donald Trump said Saturday that the United States may join Saudi Arabia in military action against Iran-backed Houthi rebels after a strike on Riyadh’s main airport killed 12 people, including an American citizen, and wounded more than 300 others.

“We may. We’re going to look at it,” Trump told reporters outside the White House before departing for a campaign rally in Tennessee. “We just found out about the recent attack. So we’ll make a decision. We move very quickly.”

Secretary of State Marco Rubio confirmed that a U.S. citizen was among the dead and condemned the assault. The attack marks a sharp escalation in Yemen’s conflict and raises the prospect of a second active U.S. combat front in the broader Iran war.

Second deadly strike in a week

Saudi civil aviation authorities said the Saturday assault on King Khalid International Airport killed four Saudi citizens along with nationals of Bangladesh, Palestine, Egypt, Jordan, Syria, Sudan and the United States. More than 300 people were injured, some critically, and were treated at hospitals across Riyadh.

It was the second deadly attack on the same airport in less than a week. On Thursday, Houthi militants killed three Saudi nationals, including a pilot, in strikes on the facility. The Saudi-led coalition blamed Iran-backed Houthis for Saturday’s assault and called it a war crime, pledging a decisive response under international humanitarian law.

The Houthis renewed a warning against using Saudi airports and airspace, exempting only Mecca and Medina. Multiple countries, including the United States, Britain, Germany, Australia and Canada, advised citizens to avoid the airport as police sealed entrances and dimmed lighting around the complex.

Saudi appeals for urgent U.S. support

Two Saudi government officials told MS NOW that Riyadh is requesting “urgent defense support” from Washington and wants the United States to intervene as soon as possible to help the Saudi-led coalition fight the Houthis. The White House did not immediately comment on those reports.

Last month the Trump administration approved a potential $24.3 billion sale of nearly 50 F-35 warplanes to Saudi Arabia, a deal still under congressional review. Analysts warn that opening a sustained campaign against Houthi ballistic missiles would stretch U.S. forces already committed against Iran and complicate preparations for contingencies elsewhere, including East Asia.

Energy markets and the midterms

Beyond aviation, the Houthis have sought to disrupt tanker traffic through the Bab el-Mandeb Strait while Iran has constrained flows through the Strait of Hormuz. Energy prices have surged since U.S. and Israeli strikes on Iran began in February, feeding voter anger over fuel costs ahead of November’s midterm elections.

Britain’s defense secretary said London is also examining how to support Saudi Arabia but is not joining offensive operations at this stage. A major international energy conference planned near the airport was still scheduled to proceed Sunday, with ministers and executives from dozens of countries expected to attend in person or virtually.

Update — October 12, 2026

A projectile hit a passenger terminal at King Khalid International Airport on Sunday, a day after Saturday’s deadly missile strike, the Saudi-led coalition said. Saudi authorities said a Pakistani national was killed and 11 people were injured in the latest attack on the domestic terminal complex. The Houthis claimed responsibility for the weekend attacks.

The airport has now been struck four times in five days and has remained closed since Saturday. At least 20 people, including one American, have been killed in a week of Houthi attacks on the facility, CBS News reported.

On Monday, the U.S. Embassy in Saudi Arabia said it was aware of “additional attacks” on the Riyadh airport and a “targeted attack” on King Fahd International Airport in Dammam on Oct. 11, and urged Americans to “take extreme caution when using all major airports in Saudi Arabia.”

Brent crude climbed back above $105 a barrel on Monday, a two-week high, as markets weighed the prospect of direct U.S. involvement in Yemen. Separately, Iran’s foreign minister said Tehran was still reviewing Washington’s response to its seven-point ceasefire proposal and that indirect messages continue to pass through mediators.