President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan condemned the Houthi attack on Riyadh's King Khalid International Airport and announced that the Mecca Joint Defence Agreement with Pakistan and Saudi Arabia is being prepared for dispatch to Turkey's parliament [39]. Erdoğan stated that "Türkiye hukuk ve insanlık dışı saldırılar karşısında Suudi Arabistan'ın ve Suudi kardeşlerinin yanındadır" (Turkey stands with Saudi Arabia and its Saudi brothers against lawless and inhumane attacks) [39]. The announcement came after Houthi missile and drone strikes on Saudi airports killed at least 14 people and wounded more than 300 over the weekend of October 10–11 [9][28].
The Mecca pact drew immediate political opposition inside Turkey. İYİ Party Group Deputy Chair Turhan Çömez questioned the authority with which Erdoğan signed the agreement and warned that Turkey could be drawn into war with Iran [38]. YENİ Party Group Deputy Chair Murat Emir called the agreement adventurous and said it would turn Turkey into "Suudi Arabistan'dan sıcak para bulmak dışında herhangi bir işe yaramayacak ve Türkiye'yi maalesef bu ülkelerin paralı muhafızına dönüştürecek" (a paid guard of these countries, serving no purpose other than finding hot money from Saudi Arabia) [38]. AKP Group Deputy Chair Özlem Zengin defended the pact as "bölgesel anlamda bir ortak savunma stratejisi" (a joint defense strategy in a regional sense) aimed at stability [38].
Saudi Energy Minister Prince Abdulaziz bin Salman told the World Petroleum Congress in Riyadh that "the events of recent weeks are serious, our response must be equally serious" [6][35]. Coalition spokesman Turki al-Maliki called the Saturday strike "un crimen de guerra en toda regla" (a full-fledged war crime) and a terrorist attack against a civilian target [14][1]. The coalition vowed a decisive response [22][34]. Yemen's Presidential Leadership Council announced comprehensive military operations to retake Houthi-controlled areas [16].
Houthi military spokesman Yahya Saree said the group launched missiles and drones at Riyadh and Dammam airports and two oil and gas facilities in response to 124 Saudi air strikes in 24 hours, vowing to impose "the equation of 'a blockade for a blockade' and 'an escalation for an escalation'" until the siege on Yemen is lifted [6]. The Houthis declared all Saudi airports and airspace targets except Mecca and Medina [16]. Senior Houthi official Mohammed Al Bukhaiti warned that US involvement would bring "a swift and painful response targeting the US and all its interests in the region" [32]. Former Israeli army Iran analyst Danny Citrinowizc said the Houthis' position has been clear: if their planes cannot land at Sanaa airport, civilian planes should not land at Saudi airports [14].
UN Secretary-General António Guterres said he was "deeply shocked" and that "these attacks must cease immediately," calling the strikes a violation of international law [5][30]. UN Special Envoy Hans Grundberg told the Security Council that Yemen had slid back into full-scale war, and UN Deputy Emergency Relief Coordinator Mohamed Yahya said over 200,000 people had been displaced since August, the highest new displacement since the 2022 truce [30]. UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Türk said he was "consterné" (dismayed) by the repeated attacks and urged both sides to avoid a new catastrophe [24].
Iran offered to mediate. Foreign Ministry spokesman Esmaeil Baqaei said Iran was "deeply concerned about the developments taking place in the Arabian Peninsula" and had repeatedly expressed readiness to facilitate dialogue [8][9]. Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi told his Saudi counterpart that a military approach would complicate matters [10][43]. China condemned the attacks and called on parties to resolve differences through dialogue [9][24]. Russia's Foreign Ministry condemned the attack and called for political-diplomatic settlement [40]. Oman has begun mediation between the Houthis and Saudi Arabia, with Houthi demands centered on implementing the frozen 2022 roadmap [42].
European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen called the strikes a "dangerous escalation" and said attacks by Iran's proxies are driving the region "into a spiral of violence" [28]. UN panel of experts researcher Fernando Carvajal said Iran provides the Houthis with intelligence fundamental to the precision of the attacks [14]. Iran has denied supplying weapons and training to the Houthis [6].
Saudi Arabia is investigating why its air defenses failed to stop the missiles [9][32]. Saudi officials acknowledged running out of interceptor missiles [31]. Security analyst Thomas Juneau said Saudi Arabia is "so large that it's simply impossible for them to consistently defend themselves" [35]. Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman has not been publicly seen since last Tuesday and is reportedly shuttling between fortified palaces with bunkers [11]. The IMF projected Saudi GDP to contract 3.3 percent this year, in a report prepared before the recent strikes [24], and the Saudi Ministry of Finance expects a 3.6 percent contraction [31].
Pakistan has deployed several thousand non-combat troops under the August mutual-defense pact, though other reports put Pakistani deployments far higher, at 30,000 to 40,000 [18][26]. Britain has sent an aerial refueling tanker [18][26]. France has promised troops to protect a Red Sea oil port [18][26]. President Donald Trump said the US may join Saudi strikes, stating "we may, we're going to look at it" [22][37]. Pakistani commentary warned that renewed American military involvement in Yemen would be a recipe for disaster, while US commentary argued Washington should not join the strikes without public justification, congressional scrutiny and a civilian-risk assessment [10][37].
King Khalid International Airport remained closed until at least October 17, affecting nearly 700 flights a day [34]. Qatar Airways, Etihad, Lufthansa, Air France-KLM, Gulf Air, and SriLankan Airlines suspended flights to Saudi cities [9][15][29][32]. The US FAA urged caution over Saudi airspace [9][25]. The Mexican Embassy warned that "el espacio aéreo de este país sigue siendo un objetivo de posibles ataques" (this country's airspace remains a target for possible attacks) [13].
Baker Institute Gulf expert Christian Coates Ulrichsen said the Saudi leader has few good options, as any military response risks drawing the kingdom deeper into an asymmetric conflict [31]. Gulf International Forum executive director Dania Thafer said Saudi Arabia will likely respond forcefully but prefers to avoid a prolonged confrontation [22]. The Saudi-led coalition announced large-scale operations against Houthi military capabilities [13].