Trump Says Israel Is Helping Saudi Arabia Against the Houthis; Riyadh Investment Forum Reportedly Going Hybrid

The Houthi missile strikes on Riyadh's King Khalid International Airport over the weekend of Oct. 10 were reported by Bloomberg to have killed at least 14 people and wounded more than 300. Other accounts put the toll differently: Breitbart has cited at least 12 killed, including an American, and also at least 14 civilians killed with hundreds wounded, while The Standard reported a day after one strike that it killed 13. Since then, the fighting has spread from airports to oil sites and the diplomatic map. The latest developments are a claim of Israeli help from Trump, a retreat from in-person attendance at Saudi Arabia's biggest investor event, and fresh signs of strain on the kingdom's air defenses.

Trump Points to Israeli Help and the Abraham Accords

Trump said Friday that Israel has been assisting Saudi Arabia against the Iran-backed Houthis. He also suggested the kingdom may be closer than ever to joining the Abraham Accords.

The Houthis did not slow down this week. They launched a deadly missile attack Thursday against the presidential palace in Aden, headquarters of Yemen's internationally recognized government. The Saudi-led coalition said Thursday it intercepted a cruise missile over Medina province. Saudi armed forces confirmed that armed drones attacked Riyadh on Tuesday; they were reportedly destroyed before they could cause any damage.

On Tuesday evening, an administrative building at Saudi Aramco's headquarters in Dhahran was attacked, the Energy Ministry said. It reported no injuries or deaths.

Attacks on Abha International Airport in the south and King Khalid airport this week led to the death of three Saudis, according to Turkey's government, which condemned the attacks Friday in the strongest terms.

Interceptors Running Low, Washington Holding Back

Saudi officials say they are running low on interceptors and are scouring the globe for air defenses, according to the Wall Street Journal. Washington has so far sent only military advisers, the paper reported.

Trump is weighing whether to join Saudi-led strikes on the Houthis. He also said this week that the U.S. would not launch another attack on Iran before the Nov. 3 midterms.

The Houthis have declared Saudi airspace a "theater of operations for our missile forces," and the Journal reports their attacks are disrupting one of only two remaining primary air corridors between Europe and Asia. The barrage since last month has destroyed a parked Airbus A320, damaged at least five other aircraft and killed several airline workers, including a captain at Saudia. Cirium puts cancellations across all Saudi airports at 46.4 percent.

King Khalid airport was set to remain closed until Oct. 17, according to Reuters.

Investor Forum Heads Toward a Hybrid Format

The Future Investment Initiative, the kingdom's flagship "Davos in the Desert" gathering, is scheduled for Oct. 26. Two people familiar with the matter told Reuters that Saudi Arabia plans to make it a hybrid event so executives can tune in remotely. Some participants are still expected to fly in, possibly landing at airstrips outside Riyadh or in neighboring Gulf states and driving to the capital.

The Saudi government media office did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Before the weekend attacks, FII CEO Maha Al Saud and executive committee chairman Richard Attias said that as they prepare to welcome thousands of delegates, their safety and well-being "remain our highest priority."

Other executives are already pulling back. The chief executives of BP and Shell withdrew from the WPC Energy Congress in Riyadh, which continued in person at a convention center 10 km from the airport. Energy Minister Prince Abdulaziz bin Salman insisted Vision 2030 must continue.

US and UK advisories are giving some would-be attendees second thoughts. Several executives, speaking anonymously, told Briefs that no one wants to be the first to cancel and that companies plan to decide closer to opening day.

The stakes are financial. Deals announced at the 2025 Riyadh edition topped $50 billion, and PIF Governor Yasir Al-Rumayyan says the forum has facilitated more than $250 billion in transactions since launch. The Finance Ministry already expects the Saudi economy to contract 3.6 percent this year.

Iran Looms Behind the Houthis

Trump has described Iran as in "very bad condition," saying Friday: "They have no military. They have no navy, they have no air force, they have no anti-aircraft."

Western officials told Bloomberg a different story. Iran retains factories and the ability to manufacture missiles and drones despite repeated U.S. and Israeli bombing, they said, with plenty of ballistic missiles and some anti-ship weapons left to retaliate against the U.S.

The Journal reports that Iran has built dirt mounds around its Pickaxe Mountain and Natanz nuclear sites to impede ground raids and is rallying its public for war. On Oct. 11, Mohsen Rezaei, secretary of Iran's Supreme National Security Council, said Tehran could target the UAE, along with data centers and internet cables across the region. Iranian officials have also warned that renewed conflict could bring strikes on Saudi oil facilities.

A third U.S. aircraft carrier strike group is heading to the region. According to the U.S. Naval Institute, citing the International Maritime Organization and UK Maritime Trade Operations, 11 ships have been struck in the Strait of Hormuz or off Oman so far in October.

Regional Backing

Breitbart reports that Turkey and Pakistan signed an agreement in Mecca to treat attacks on Saudi Arabia as attacks on their own territory. Syria denied Wednesday that it is considering a Saudi request to send ground forces into Yemen, though Damascus condemned the latest Houthi attacks on Saudi airports in strong terms.

The next dates to watch are the Oct. 26 investor forum and the Nov. 3 midterms, after which Trump's decision on joining strikes on the Houthis or resuming action against Iran comes into play.