Iran-US war latest: Plane damaged and flights suspended after Houthi strike on major international airport

Please refresh the page or navigate to another page on the site to be automatically logged inPlease refresh your browser to be logged in

Want to bookmark your favourite articles and stories to read or reference later? Start your Independent Membership today.

Yemen’s Iran-backed Houthi rebels claimed they attacked Riyadh airport with a ballistic missile on Thursday. A parked Saudia Airlines plane caught fire and was badly damaged, according to Reuters, which cited sources.

Air India and Lufthansa suspended flights to the Saudi capital.

Saudi Arabia has not commented on the latest claim, but said three people were killed in airport strikes earlier this week.

According to aviation analytics company Cirium, almost half of departures from the Riyadh airport had been cancelled by 1500 GMT yesterday, with 31 more cancellations expected for Friday in all Saudi airports.

Earlier, Donald Trump said the US will not attack Iran for almost a month as claimed “productive” discussions were taking place over ending the conflict.

In a statement issued on Truth Social on Thursday evening, the US president wrote: “We are having ​productive ⁠discussions with the ‌Islamic Republic of Iran. We will not be attacking Iran at ‌any time prior ​to the Midterm ‌Elections to ⁠be held in the ⁠United States on November 3rd.”

Iranian media reported “massive explosions” in the southern Strait of Hormuz.

Fars news agency, citing unnamed military sources, said tankers using “unauthorised” routes may have hit sea mines.

Yemen’s Iran-backed Houthi rebels claimed they struck Riyadh airport with a ballistic missile on Thursday, damaging a parked Saudi Airlines plane that caught fire.

Air India and Lufthansa suspended flights to the Saudi capital.

Saudi Arabia has not commented on the latest claim, but said three people were killed in strikes on Riyadh and Abha airports earlier this week.

The Houthis say they are targeting Saudi Arabia because it supports Yemen’s internationally recognised government in the civil war.

They have also threatened to strike Saudi energy facilities.

The USS Abraham Lincoln, an aircraft carrier that had been deployed for a record 265 days at sea and supported US operations in Iran, has docked in San Diego, California.

The carrier drew national attention following reports of stress among the crew and poor mental health, as well as supply shortages. Pentagon officials downplayed those reports.

President Donald Trump defended his comments about Iran destroying U.S. cities in a lengthy Truth Social post on Thursday afternoon.

The president initially sparked backlash when, at a Monday rally in Nebraska, he said: “They could take out a city. Let them take out Los Angeles; let them take out San Diego.” The White House later denounced media coverage of those remarks, clarifying that he was addressing the threat a nuclear-armed Iran could pose.

“The Fake and Artificial News is out there trying to say that I’m inviting the enemy to bomb San Diego and Los Angeles,” Trump wrote on Thursday. “In actuality, what I was talking about was that a temporary increase in the price of Gasoline is a small price to pay for Iran not having a Nuclear Weapon and, if you want to see a big price, can you imagine what it would be like if they bombed San Diego and/or Los Angeles?”

President Donald Trump swatted away a question from a female reporter at the White House when she asked him to explain his comment about Iran “taking out” Los Angeles and San Diego.

Addressing a rally crowd in Grand Island, Nebraska, Monday, the president had been discussing the Iran war driving up gas prices due to the blockading of the Strait of Hormuz, which he said was “a small price to pay for keeping the world safe, keeping our country safe.”

He then continued: “They can take out a city – let ’em take, let ’em take out Los Angeles, let ’em take out San Diego. That’s – this is a very small price to pay.”

Donald Trump said on Thursday the United ⁠States is having productive discussions with Iran and will not launch an ⁠attack on ​the country ⁠before US midterm congressional elections in ⁠November.

“We are having ​productive ⁠discussions with the ‌Islamic Republic of Iran,” Trump wrote in a ‌post on Truth ‌Social. He said the US blockade of Iranian ⁠ports remains in effect and that oil is flowing through the Strait of Hormuz.

“We will not be attacking Iran at ‌any time prior ​to the Midterm ‌Elections to ⁠be held in the ⁠United States on November 3rd,” ‌Trump ​said.

The U.S. military has seen 81 fixed-wing or rotary-wing aircraft worth as much as $3.3 billion damaged or destroyed in President Donald Trump’s war with Iran so far, according to a Congressional Research Service report.

Trump launched his Operation Epic Fury airstrikes against Tehran, in partnership with Israel, on February 28, since when it has seen airplanes, helicopters and drones hit in retaliatory strikes.

The total cited includes a costly F-35A fighter jet and a four-engine E-3 Sentry among the casualties, while MQ-9 Reaper drones, used for surveillance and search-and-rescue operations, account for more than half of the losses.

US military installations in Germany, including Ramstein and Spangdahlem air bases, are being targeted by Iranian intelligence services amid concerns over potential covert attacks linked to the Iran conflict, news outlet WirtschaftsWoche reported on Thursday.

Three weeks ago, Israel warned US and German partners of a potential threat, with concern focused on bases supporting American military operations and logistics linked to the conflict with Iran. The report cited several unnamed Western intelligence officials.

The Iranian and Israeli embassies in Berlin did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

The German defence ministry declined comment.

“It is inappropriate to discuss matters of intelligence, and we will not comment on specific threat reporting or force protection measures,” a US European Command Spokesperson said. “US European Command remains vigilant and continuously assesses the security environment across the European theatre.”

A source told Reuters that Germany has been monitoring increased Iranian activity for weeks, without referencing what was mentioned in the WirtschaftsWoche article in particular.

A military spokesperson for Yemen’s Houthis warned workers at Saudi Arabia’s oil facilities to avoid sites the group considers targets and renewed threats of attacks against airlines and airports in a statement on Wednesday amid escalating violence between the two sides.

Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies

Please refresh the page or navigate to another page on the site to be automatically logged inPlease refresh your browser to be logged in