AILSA CHANG, HOST:
Right now, there is no way to fly in or out of the airport serving the capital of Saudi Arabia, Riyadh. The country is coming under daily attacks from Iran-backed Houthis. On Saturday, an attack on a passenger terminal at the airport killed 13 people. Yemeni Houthis say they're attacking Saudi airports in response to Saudi airstrikes. With more is NPR's Aya Batrawy from Dubai. Hi, Aya.
AYA BATRAWY, BYLINE: Hi, Ailsa.
CHANG: So what exactly is happening now in the Saudi capital?
BATRAWY: So there have been at least four attacks on Riyadh's airport in the past week, and this comes as the Houthis have been warning that Saudi airspace is a theater of war and have been firing missiles and drones on Saudi airports and energy sites. Now, Saudi authorities say 20 people were killed over the past week, but it was Saturday's attack on Riyadh airport that was the deadliest. The Saudis released CCTV footage from the airport showing people standing in line - most of them Muslim pilgrims headed to Mecca - when a fireball hits the passenger terminal. Helicopters and ambulances were dispatched to the scene. Saudi authorities say 13 people of various nationalities were killed, including a U.S. citizen, and that more than 300 others were wounded, some critically. And then a day later, the airport was hit again.
CHANG: Wait. So these attacks have forced the suspension of service at the airport in Riyadh. What do these sort of attacks mean for Saudi Arabia?
BATRAWY: Well, Ailsa, it seems the Houthis know exactly what they're targeting, whether it's air bases or gas fields or oil refineries in the kingdom, or as we've been seeing now, too, hitting Riyadh's airport with precision over and over again in recent days. And it's not only Riyadh airport that's being targeted. I just flew from that busy international airport a week ago, and when I was looking at how to get back, I found that the Houthis are also targeting airports to the east and south of the capital. And so what this means is that it's more difficult to reach Riyadh, and it's currently not possible or safe to fly into this huge city. Saudi Arabia is hosting a major energy conference in Riyadh today, but top executives from BP, Total, Exxon - they're not in attendance.
CHANG: Well, let's talk a little more about Yemen now because I want to understand. Are the Houthis also gaining ground there, too?
BATRAWY: So the Houthis, which identified by name as Ansar Allah, were long marginalized in Yemen. But after Arab Spring turmoil there, they took control of Yemen's capital, Sanaa, and they have controlled it ever since. That is despite Saudi efforts to reinstall to power the internationally recognized Yemeni government. And the Houthis want to expand that control. And so over the summer, they began targeting Saudi oil tankers in the Red Sea, blocking a key export route, in response to what they say is a long-standing Saudi blockade on Houthi areas.
And then last month, the group took control of Yemeni territory along the Red Sea, and they pushed those Yemeni government forces out. So the Saudis launched a major air offensive last week, alongside Yemeni government forces on the ground, to try and recapture that territory, and that battle is still ongoing. And the U.N. says the fighting has displaced some 200,000 people in Yemen.
CHANG: Well, is there any sign that the U.S. might get more directly involved to help Saudi Arabia, given the close relationship between President Trump and the Saudi crown prince?
BATRAWY: So the U.S. is helping with intel on the Houthis, but they're not sending military help to the Saudis in the way that France, the U.K., Turkey and Pakistan have done. And that's because Trump seems unwilling to get involved in another Gulf War. You know, there's still no resolution to the Iran war, and oil tankers are being hit daily in the Strait of Hormuz. But countries like Egypt are offering to mediate between the Houthis and Riyadh, and yesterday, the foreign ministers of Iran and Saudi Arabia say they spoke by phone about these recent escalations.
CHANG: That NPR's Aya Batrawy in Dubai. Thank you, Aya.
BATRAWY: Thanks, Ailsa. Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.
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