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

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.

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.

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.

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.