Saudi-backed Yemeni government forces launched a major military offensive as fighting with the Houthis escalated, while President Donald Trump weighed whether the United States should join Saudi strikes in Yemen, The Associated Press reported.
Military operations in Yemen
The Saudi-led coalition provided air support for government forces trying to reverse Houthi gains, according to the AP. The National’s October 10 Yemen update listed a wide-ranging coalition operation but offered no operational details in the extracted page content.
The National also reported that the United States stood with Saudi Arabia and Yemen against the Houthis. Its October 10 pages listed Trump’s comments about Iran talks and reported that the US embassy had warned Middle East hostilities had the “potential to escalate rapidly.”
The AP said Trump was weighing whether the United States should join Saudi strikes against the Iran-backed Houthi rebels in neighboring Yemen. The report said Saudi-backed Yemeni government forces had launched a major military offensive a week earlier. The National’s page offered no further details about the coalition operation.
Attacks disrupt Riyadh airport
Houthi attacks on Riyadh airport on Thursday damaged three planes, the AP reported, citing two regional officials who spoke anonymously because they weren't authorized to brief the media. Saudi Arabia’s General Authority of Civil Aviation said Friday that three Saudi citizens were killed and several were wounded.
A regional official said air traffic faced another disruption Friday evening after the Houthis fired a missile at the airport. Flightradar24 reported that many flights were diverted. The National said a Qatar Airways flight bound for Riyadh returned to Doha after the airport attack.
The National reported that Kuwait Airways canceled flights to and from Riyadh. Saudi Arabia urged stranded citizens to contact embassies during the flight disruptions. The National also listed a requirement that US government employees obtain special permission to use Riyadh airport. Advice urged US and British nationals to avoid the airport.
The National’s October 10 updates also listed a Saudi-led coalition operation in Yemen and an attack that prompted Riyadh airport to suspend operations after several people were injured. The extracted page content gave no further details about that attack or the operation.
Uncertainty over tanker reports
The Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps claimed an attack on a tanker in the Strait of Hormuz, according to The National’s updates. Separately, the AP reported that the UAE national guard rescued 22 crew members after a fire aboard an oil tanker in the Persian Gulf. The crew, all of Asian nationalities, received first aid and were in stable condition, the statement said.
The UAE national guard didn't identify the tanker or specify where the fire occurred or what caused it. Iran’s state-run IRNA news agency cited the Revolutionary Guard Corps navy as saying an oil tanker was burning after hitting a naval mine while attempting to transit the Strait of Hormuz. The AP said it wasn't clear whether the reports concerned the same incident.
The AP reported that commercial vessels transiting the strait had faced a surge in attacks during the U.S.-Iran war as Tehran sought to assert control over the waterway. The National’s extracted content gave no further details about the tanker incident. Its updates also reported a UAE condemnation of the Houthi attack on Riyadh airport.