State Department Says Saudi Arabia Has Detained Americans for Photographing Houthi Attacks as Drones Target Riyadh Again

Since the Houthi missile strike on Riyadh's King Khalid International Airport on Saturday, the fallout has widened. The State Department warned Monday that Saudi authorities have detained American citizens for photographing the aftermath.

"American citizens have been detained for taking photos of recent events," the U.S. Embassy in Riyadh said in an updated travel advisory. The department did not say how many Americans were held or under what circumstances.

A camera can now be a legal problem

The advisory urges Americans not to photograph, film or share information about missile and drone interceptions or impact sites. Saudi Arabia's Ministry of Interior has separately warned that "filming, publishing, or sharing information related to counter missiles and drones and their impact sites exposes you to legal liability," according to the embassy.

The State Department kept Saudi Arabia at Level 3, "reconsider travel," and left the Yemen border region at Level 4, "do not travel." It cited the threat of Iranian and Houthi attacks, armed conflict, terrorism, exit bans and restrictions on social media activity.

The advisory's social media warning is strict. Americans can be arrested for posts Saudi authorities consider critical, offensive or disruptive to public order, the advisory says. That reaches posts made outside the kingdom, including criticism of the Saudi government or its leaders. Punishments have included prison sentences of up to 45 years.

The department also cautioned that Americans are subject to Saudi law and that Washington cannot guarantee their release. U.S. government employees in Saudi Arabia need special authorization to use any airport in the kingdom and cannot travel within 20 miles of the Yemen border.

The attacks have not stopped

The airport strike killed at least 13 people and wounded more than 300. NBC News and PBS now put the toll at at least 14.

Coalition spokesman Maj. Gen. Turki Al Malki said three drones headed for Riyadh were intercepted. Saudi state media did not name the Houthis as the attackers, The National noted. The coalition said Monday that ballistic missiles fired at Riyadh and Khamis Mushait were also intercepted.

Saudi Arabia's civil aviation authority confirmed Sunday that King Fahd International Airport in Dammam was attacked and sustained unspecified damage, less than at the Riyadh airport.

Life in the capital has bent around the threat. Riyadh schools have moved to virtual learning, and some companies have told staff to work from home. Traffic during rush hour still looked relatively active, and sporting events have not been canceled, The National reported. "We could hear loud explosions from time to time, but the situation was worse for those living near the airport," one office worker told the paper.

Why a $83 billion military is struggling

Saudi Arabia is the world's top buyer of American weapons. The Stockholm International Peace Research Institute says it took 12% of all U.S. arms exports from 2021 to 2025. Its 2026 budget lists $83 billion for military spending, and earlier this year it signed a $9 billion deal with Washington for 730 Patriot missiles.

None of that has produced a sealed sky. Regional officials say the kingdom is running low on interceptors and has asked allies for help. A recent defense pact with Pakistan and Turkey has so far yielded little, with both countries largely staying on the sidelines or limiting their support.

Saudi analyst Ali Shihabi pushed back on the idea that the military has failed. "Expecting a country the size of Saudi Arabia to intercept every missile is simply unrealistic. No defense can guarantee complete protection," he said in an online post Monday.

Geography is part of his argument. Energy, civilian and military sites are spread across a territory roughly three times the size of Texas, and the border with Yemen runs more than 1,300 kilometers through rugged desert.

Saudi Arabia says it is investigating how its air defenses failed to stop the airport attack.

Washington's next move

The Houthis say they are attacking because Saudi Arabia backs the Yemeni government forces they seek to overthrow. A ceasefire between the Saudis and the Houthis held from 2022 to 2026 and collapsed amid the U.S.-Iran conflict, Breitbart reported, with the Houthis activated to disrupt shipping through the Bab el-Mandeb Strait.

Trump said this week he is evaluating whether the U.S. should join Saudi strikes on the Houthis. He has not announced a decision.

Several questions remain. Washington has to decide whether to put U.S. forces into the strikes. Riyadh has to explain how a heavily armed kingdom lost its airport gates and at least 14 lives. And the State Department has yet to say how many of its citizens are in Saudi custody for pointing a phone at a missile impact.