Saudi Foreign Minister Prince Faisal bin Farhan bin Abdullah and UAE Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Sheikh Abdullah bin Zayed Al Nahyan discussed regional developments on Tuesday, 13 October 2026, during a telephone call that addressed recent attacks by the Houthi group on Riyadh.
The ministers’ talks followed a series of attacks targeting King Khalid International Airport and civilian facilities in the Saudi capital, as part of an escalation in the preceding days that resulted in civilian deaths and injuries.
UAE condemns civilian deaths
On 11 October, the UAE Ministry of Foreign Affairs condemned Houthi attacks on King Khalid International Airport, saying they had resulted in the deaths of 12 people of Saudi, Egyptian, Jordanian, Syrian, Palestinian, Sudanese, American and Bangladeshi nationalities, as well as injuries to hundreds of civilians.
The UAE ministry stressed that targeting the airport constituted a violation of Saudi sovereignty and a threat to its security and stability, reaffirming the UAE’s full solidarity with the kingdom and its support for measures aimed at safeguarding its security and stability. It also offered condolences to the victims’ families and wished the injured a speedy recovery. On 12 October, the UAE condemned the continued Houthi attacks on the same airport after a new attack injured several civilians.
Continued targeting of King Khalid Airport
The UAE Ministry of Foreign Affairs again affirmed its support for Saudi Arabia, describing the continued attacks as a threat to the kingdom’s security and stability. This followed other attacks on King Khalid Airport and a Saudi Airlines aircraft, which the UAE said in a statement issued on 9 October had resulted in the deaths of three Saudis and injuries to several civilians.
Abu Dhabi also condemned attacks on 8 October targeting Abha and King Khalid airports, which resulted in the deaths of three people of Moroccan, Algerian and Sudanese nationalities and injuries to dozens of civilians.
