Two ballistic missiles fired toward the Khamis Mushait airbase were intercepted by air-defence systems, the Saudi-led coalition stated on Tuesday, with the incident occurring against a backdrop of repeated projectile launches targeting aviation infrastructure over the preceding days.

The coalition's spokesperson, Turki Al-Maliki, reported via X that two ballistic missiles fired toward Khamis Mushait had been tracked and brought down, while the area's Civil Defence authority had already put residents of the governorate on notice to remain alert to possible threats from the air. A subsequent post on X from the agency stated that the threat affecting Khamis Mushait Governorate had been lifted. Residents in the area were urged to continue following civil defence guidance and to refrain from congregating or recording.

The interception followed a statement from Houthi military spokesman Yahya Saree, who said his forces had directed a ballistic missile at King Khalid International Airport in Riyadh and carried out a separate drone attack on Khamis Mushait Air Base. Via a Telegram post, Saree announced that his forces had targeted King Khalid International Airport in Riyadh with a ballistic missile that evening, characterising the impact as accurate. He urged international airlines and passengers to avoid Saudi airports on the basis that those facilities represented a hazard — a notice he clarified did not apply to airspace or airports serving Mecca and Medina — and also disclosed that a separate drone operation had been carried out against Khamis Mushait Air Base, which he likewise described as a direct hit.

On Monday, Trump commented on ongoing Houthi attacks, telling reporters the group had been conducting itself in a manner that violated expected norms of behaviour. Pressed by journalists on what measures the United States might pursue against the group, Trump described the situation as far from ideal. Asked by a journalist whether the increase in Houthi attacks bore any relationship to the approaching US mid-term elections, Trump said he did not know of a link between the two. Trump also expressed certainty that a nuclear weapon would not come to be in Iranian hands, and stated that no pathway to nuclear weapons capability was expected to open up for them. His remarks further characterised the Houthis as a group operating beyond what he considered permissible norms.

Those remarks came against a backdrop of repeated attacks on Saudi infrastructure, with facilities including King Khalid International Airport in Riyadh and King Fahd International Airport in Dammam among the sites affected. On Saturday, Trump told reporters at the White House that a decision on whether to join Saudi military operations against the Houthis was under consideration, following a missile strike on King Khalid International Airport in Riyadh, with the president noting that the attack had only recently come to his attention.

Separately, on Monday, Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi held a telephone call with Iraqi Foreign Minister Fuad Hussein to discuss developments across the region. According to Hussein's Telegram channel, the two diplomats held talks covering a range of shifting regional matters, among them the ongoing armed conflict in Yemen, where exchanges of fire between Houthi forces and the Saudi military have continued.

Thirteen people lost their lives — one of them an Indian national — when King Khalid International Airport came under attack on 10 October, with hundreds of others receiving treatment for injuries. Toll figures released by the General Authority of Civil Aviation on 11 October put the number of deaths at 12, with a further 309 people recorded as having sustained injuries. Confirmation of one Indian national's death — a result of wounds received during the attack — came from the Indian Embassy in Riyadh.

Strikes against King Khalid International Airport and Abha International Airport on 6 and 7 October left three people dead and 36 others wounded, according to figures released by GACA, with both facilities taken out of service for a period while the relevant authorities conducted safety checks and evaluated the extent of any damage.