Iran Calls U.S. Response “Insufficient” Amid Stalled Talks to End the War
By Frank Andrews, Emily Mae Czachor, Mark Osborne
What to know about the Iran war today:
- There was another strike on Riyadh’s King Khalid International Airport on Sunday, after an attack the previous day killed at least 12 people and wounded another 309, according to Saudi authorities. An American was among those victims. The Iran-backed Houthis have claimed responsibility for the strikes.
- President Trump on Saturday left open the possibility the U.S. will join Saudi Arabia’s battle against the Houthis. “We may. We’re gonna look at it,” Mr. Trump said. Fighting between the Iranian proxy group and Saudi-backed forces in Yemen appears to be the new epicenter of the wider war.
- President Trump spoke with Russian leader Vladimir Putin on Friday to discuss freeing up millions of tons of diesel, but the Russian president also relayed Iran’s position on a peace deal to his American counterpart, according to the Kremlin.
Saudi authorities say King Fahd International Airport in Dammam was attacked
Saudi’s General Authority of Civil Aviation on Sunday confirmed that King Fahd International Airport had been attacked after the Iran-backed Houthis said they had targeted the airport in Dammam.
It’s unclear whether there were any injuries. The Saudi civil aviation authority said it is assessing the damage.
King Fahd International Airport is located approximately 400 miles away from the King Khalid International Airport in Riyadh, which was also attacked on Sunday.
Saudi, Egypt, Pakistan and Turkey condemn Houthi strikes on Saudi Arabia
Saudi Arabia, Egypt, Pakistan and Turkey on Sunday issued a joint statement condemning the Houthis’ attacks against Saudi Arabia, including the latest strike on Riyadh’s King Khalid International Airport.
The regional group of four nations said the attacks in Riyadh, which killed at least 12 people and wounded another 309 the previous day, “constitute a blatant violation of international law.”
An American was among those victims. Saudi Arabia’s General Authority of Civil Aviation said those killed also included four Saudi citizens, two Bangladeshis and one person each from Egypt, Jordan, Syria, Palestine and Sudan.
Iran calls U.S. response “insufficient” amid stalled talks to end the war
The head of Iran’s Supreme National Security Council said Tehran considers the latest U.S. response “insufficient,” amid stalled negotiations to end the war and fully open the Strait of Hormuz.
The comments by Mohsen Rezaei, a former Revolutionary Guard commander, were reported by Iran’s state-run IRNA news agency.
Rezaei added that Iran is no longer responding to the U.S. and said Washington must clarify certain issues, without giving details. He said the U.S. has accepted some of the seven conditions but others remain unclear.
Iran’s delegation to the annual U.N. gathering of world leaders last month proposed a sped-up agreement that echoed the memorandum of understanding that collapsed days after the U.S. and Iran signed it in June. The new proposal was rejected, but the two sides have remained in contact via mediation.
Rezaei also threatened “cables, data centers, AI facilities and other sites in the region” if intense fighting breaks out again.
Houthis claim Saudi airport attacks, including new strike on Sunday
CBS/AP
Another projectile struck a passenger terminal at the international airport in Riyadh on Sunday, according to the Saudi-led coalition fighting Iran-backed Houthi rebels in Yemen. The latest attack came one day after a missile hit the same airport terminal, killing 12 people and injuring hundreds.
Details about the latest strike on the King Khalid International Airport complex weren’t immediately available, outside of the fact that terminals 3 and 4, for domestic flights, were affected. The missile attack Saturday was the deadliest in a Gulf Arab nation since the Iran war began. Of around 300 people wounded in its aftermath, some suffered critical injuries. The airport was closed Sunday.
The newest attack happened as the Houthis said they carried out at least four operations targeting the airport in Riyadh since Saturday. Houthi military spokesman Brig. Gen. Yahya Saree said on Telegram that the attacks came in response to “brutal Saudi aggression against our country and our people,” CBS News partner BBC News reported. He claimed Saudi Arabia launched more than 120 airstrikes in the past 24 hours in parts of Yemen under Houthi control.
Sen. Chris Murphy warns against U.S. retaliating on Saudi’s behalf amid war “spiraling out of control”
Democratic Sen. Chris Murphy, of Connecticut, said the U.S. shouldn’t retaliate on Saudi Arabia’s behalf following the strike at Riyadh’s King Khalid International Airport, arguing that going to war with the Houthis in Yemen would be an escalation with dangerous consequences.
“This administration is absolutely incompetent in war-making, and so just as we have made the Middle East worse and more chaotic by getting involved in a war against Iran, we would simply escalate and make the situation even more dangerous,” Murphy said on “Face the Nation with Margaret Brennan.”
Murphy, who said he was at the Riyadh airport the day before the strike, said, “What I saw on the ground is a war that is spiraling out of control.”
Murphy cited the 12 people killed in the airport strike, a “full-blown new war” between the Houthis in Yemen and Saudi Arabia, the Iranians restarting their missile programs, and evidence that he said suggests they’re restarting nuclear research activities, along with the deaths of American service members and the war’s high price tag.
“If the Trump administration was trying to lose this war, they couldn’t do worse than they are doing,” Murphy said. “This is a humiliation to the United States. The war is getting bigger and more dangerous, not smaller and more limited.”
Netanyahu denounces Riyadh attack, calls for a region “united against threats”
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu spoke out Sunday in the wake of the deadly attack on Saudi Arabia’s Riyadh airport, joining leaders from other countries in the region and beyond who’ve condemned it. The U.S., Israel and other nations have blamed Yemen’s Houthis for the strike, although the group hasn’t claimed responsibility for it outright.
“Terrorism targets innocent people and seeks to spread fear and instability. It must be confronted with resolve,” said Netanyahu in a statement posted to X. “Israel looks forward to a strong Middle East—one that stands united against threats, protects its people, and builds a future of security, cooperation, and prosperity for all the peoples of our region.”
Netanyahu also shared “condolences to the families of those murdered” and “wishes for a full recovery to the injured.”
UAE declares “full solidarity with Saudi Arabia” after deadly airport attack
The United Arab Emirates issued a statement Sunday reiterating its “full solidarity with Saudi Arabia” after the deadly attack on Riyadh’s airport. The statement, released by the country’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs, said the UAE supports “all measures” to protect security in the kingdom.
“The UAE expressed its sincere condolences and sympathy to the families of the victims, as well as its wishes for a speedy recovery for all the injured,” the statement said.
Houthis issue new threat to Saudi airports and airspace, warn against travel
CBS/AFP
Yemen’s Houthis have issued a new threat to Saudi Arabia’s airspace since an attack on the kingdom’s international airport in Riyadh killed 12 people and wounded hundreds, forcing authorities to stop operations.
Although the Iran-backed group hasn’t claimed the strike, its military spokesperson threatened new attacks on the kingdom’s airports and airspace, saying in a statement that they’re “potential targets and sites for operations by our forces,” CBS partner BBC News reported.
“The airports and airspace are exposed to targeting and constitute a theatre of operations for our forces,” Yahya Saree, the Houthi spokesperson, wrote Sunday in a post on X. Passengers have been warned not to travel.
The holy cities of Mecca and Medina wouldn’t be targeted, Saree said.
Saturday’s attack, the deadliest on Saudi soil in more than a decade, was a sharp escalation in the Yemen war, where Riyadh backs the internationally-recognized government against the Houthis, who captured swaths of Red Sea coastline in a lightning offensive last month.
The strike came in a week when the group intensified its attacks on the Saudi capital’s King Khalid International Airport, where three people were also killed on Thursday, as well as other key targets in the world’s top crude oil exporter.
France condemns Houthi attack on Riyadh airport
CBS/AFP
France on Sunday condemned the “heinous attack” by Yemen’s Iran-backed Houthis on Riyadh’s international airport a day earlier, stressing its “total solidarity” with Saudi Arabia.
France, which is already lending troops and military equipment to Saudi Arabia, “will continue to remain by its side” in order to defend “its territory and its infrastructure,” the French Foreign Ministry said in a statement.
The ministry called on the Houthis to cease their attacks, echoing a previous statement issued by the French agency last week, in which it implored Houthi fighters to “immediately end their attacks and provocations, which destabilize the region further.”
U.S. fighter jet strikes, disables commercial vessel in Gulf of Oman, Pentagon says
The U.S. military disabled a Panama-flagged commercial vessel in the Gulf of Oman Saturday by firing on it with a fighter jet, U.S. military’s Central Command said.
According to CENTCOM, the fighter jet fired a “precision munition” at M/V Ocean Molica, also known as the “Arika Sun,” that disabled the “ship’s propulsion without harming the crew.”
The ship had recently departed an Iranian port. Iran’s ports have been under a U.S. blockade since a ceasefire between the two countries collapsed in July.
Four commercial vessels have been disabled by U.S. forces and 135 ships have been turned around since the blockade took effect on July 14, CENTCOM said.
During that same period, U.S. forces have also destroyed 10 tankers that are believed to be part of a “shadow fleet” that transport sanctioned Iranian oil and petroleum products, CENTCOM said.
At least 12 killed, more than 300 injured in strike on Riyadh airport, Saudi officials say
At least 12 people were killed and 309 others wounded in a strike Saturday on Riyadh’s King Khalid International Airport, Saudi officials said.
In a statement, the Saudi General Authority of Civil Aviation said an American was among the 12 victims. Four Saudi nationals, two Bangladeshi nationals, one Egyptian, one Jordanian, one Syrian, one Palestinian and one Sudanese national were also among those killed.
Another 309 people were wounded, the civil aviation authority said, an unknown number of whom were in critical condition.
The U.S. State Department has blamed the Iran-backed Houthi militant group for the strike, although the Houthis have not claimed responsibility for it.
“The United States strongly condemns the recent attacks on the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia by the terrorist Houthis, including today’s strike on King Khalid International Airport in Riyadh that took numerous innocent lives, including an American citizen,” Secretary of State Marco Rubio said in a social media post.
A violent conflict between a Saudi-backed coalition that supports the Yemeni government and the Houthis, who control a large swath of Yemen, has been building for weeks as the Houthis have expanded control of Yemen’s Red Sea coastline and several islands in the Bab al-Mandab Strait, a critical waterway that has put further pressure on the movement of oil globally.
Earlier Saturday, President Trump said he was considering whether to have the U.S. join the fight against the Houthis.
“Projectile” lands near Saudi’s Dammam airport, Saudi military says
The Saudi-led international coalition fighting Yemen’s Houthis said Saturday a “projectile” fell near Dammam’s international airport, hours after officials acknowledged an attack on Riyadh’s airport.
“A projectile landed near King Fahd International Airport in Dammam,” wrote the coalition spokesman on X.
U.S. “may” join Saudi strikes on Houthis, Trump says
President Trump left open the possibility the U.S. will join Saudi Arabia’s battle against the Iran-backed Houthis on Saturday.
“We may. We’re gonna look at it,” Mr. Trump said when asked about the possibility as he left the White House for a campaign rally in Tennessee. “We just found out about the recent attack [on the airport]. So we’ll make a decision– we move very quickly.”
Mr. Trump was also asked about whether the Houthi strike on Riyadh’s airport would change his previously announced decision not to launch any potential strikes on Iran until after the midterms.
“Well, we’re gonna take a look,” he responded.
Multiple people were injured in a strike on Riyadh’s King Khalid International Airport on Saturday. The Houthis have not claimed responsibility for the attack, but Saudi Arabia’s aviation authority said the strike was part of “continued attacks targeting civil aviation facilities in the Kingdom.”
Multiple injuries in Riyadh airport attack, operations suspended
There have been multiple injuries at Riyadh’s King Khalid International Airport, which has now shut down operations as officials assess the damage, according to the country’s aviation authority.
“The attack resulted in a number of injuries, which are being dealt with,” the General Authority of Civil Aviation said in a statement, the first official confirmation of an attack. “The authority explained that airport operations have been temporarily suspended to allow for the completion of damage assessments and verification of the safety of the facilities, in coordination with the relevant authorities.”
There have been 324 flights into or out of King Khalid International Airport canceled on Saturday, according to FlightAware. Saudia airline, a pilot for which was killed in a Houthi strike on Thursday, has canceled the most flights (182) on Saturday.
The Iran-backed Houthis have gotten more bold in striking the airport, which is a major travel hub and hundreds of miles from where their power is located in Yemen. The militant organization has targeted the Riyadh airport several times this week, killing four people and injuring several more. Multiple people were also injured in a strike on Abha International Airport, in the southern part of Saudi Arabia.
U.S. “strongly” warns citizens to avoid Riyadh airport following attack
The U.S. is warning all citizens to avoid King Khalid International Airport in Riyadh in the wake of new attacks on the location Saturday, the embassy said.
“The U.S. Mission is aware of attacks on King Khalid International Airport in Riyadh on October 10 and strongly recommends all U.S. citizens avoid this airport and surrounding areas,” the U.S. Embassy in Saudi Arabia said on X. “U.S. government employees working in Saudi Arabia require special authorization to use the King Khalid International Airport in Riyadh. U.S. citizens should be aware of potential flight cancellations, airspace closures, and travel disruptions.”
While the airport nor the Iran-backed Houthis have confirmed an attack, there were widespread reports of an explosion at the main airport in Saudi’s capital and reports of injuries.
The Houthis have attacked the airport, which is hundreds of miles north of the Yemen border, several times this week. Four people have been killed in Houthi attacks on the airport, including three people on Thursday. One of those killed was a pilot for Saudia airline.
Western embassies in Saudi warn citizens away from Riyadh airport after strike
The Canadian, German and Spanish embassies in Saudi Arabia on Saturday warned their citizens to avoid Riyadh’s international airport after reports it was attacked.
Spain’s embassy, in a message on X, alerted nationals to a “new attack” by Yemen’s Iran-backed Houthis on the airport, where witnesses earlier told AFP an evacuation was ordered.
A diplomatic source separately told AFP that the Houthis had hit the airport with a missile around 3 p.m. local time.
Canada’s embassy said only that unspecified “ongoing military activity” was affecting Riyadh’s international airport, while Germany’s mission alluded only to “the current situation.”
France’s embassy on Friday urged French nationals to take “utmost care” in Saudi Arabia because of “strikes in recent days by the Houthis.” It also warned French citizens not to record images of zones that were hit, nor share any online.
Saudi Arabia has been tightly controlling public information about Houthi attacks on its soil in recent weeks, leaving media and residents unclear as to the danger.
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Original Source: https://www.cbsnews.com/live-updates/iran-war-trump-us-elections-saudi-arabia-yemen-houthis/
