Saudi Arabia has vowed to avenge massive attacks by Iran-backed Houthis after 14 people were killed and hundreds were injured in weekend missile attacks. Prince Abdul Aziz bin Salman, the Kingdom's energy minister, warned of a "serious" response to the Houthi strikes on the kingdom's airports and oil and gas facilities.
Bin Salman said: "The events of recent weeks are serious. Our response must be equally serious."
Deadliest attacks in recent conflict
The weekend attacks were the worst the country has suffered since the latest round of aggression broke out between the two. One man died on Sunday from an attack on the capital Riyadh's King Khalid International Airport, a day after a Houthi missile hit another terminal, killing 13.
The Houthis said they launched the attacks in retaliation for "brutal Saudi aggression" against areas they control in western Yemen. The Houthi-run health ministry said a child was killed and six other people were injured in a Saudi air strike on a home in the capital, Sanaa, on Sunday.
Regional tensions escalate
A Saudi-led coalition is providing air support for Yemeni pro-government forces battling the Houthis on Yemen's Red Sea coast and other areas. The flare-up broke out amid the spillover from the US war on Iran, which threatened further to drag the rest of the region into the conflict with no sign of it ending.
US President Donald Trump has re-introduced the possibility of providing military support to Saudi Arabia against the threat from the Houthis. Despite having earlier refused to step up, he said after the attacks, when asked about the possibility of US involvement: "We may. We're gonna look at it. We move very quickly."
Energy minister addresses congress
In his inaugural address to the WPC Energy Congress on Monday, Prince Abdul Aziz thanked industry executives and policymakers for attending despite the attacks. He said: "You know this country is safe and that we hold your protection at heart."
But he also acknowledged that "energy security cannot be taken for granted" and that conflict had "tested our infrastructure, our institutions, our people, and our resilience." He went on to promise Saudi Arabia would overcome their enemies, adding: "We, as Saudis, are fearless, combatant and determined people. We shall prove it to the world that whatever we are going through we will overcome it."
Airports closed, flights disrupted
The Houthis claimed responsibility for all four strikes on Saudi airports before Sunday's attack, which has yet to be claimed by any group. King Khalid International Airport and King Fahd International Airport in Dammam remain closed following the attacks, causing significant disruption to aviation across the Middle East.
The attacks have also disrupted flights to and from King Abdulaziz International Airport in Jeddah. More than 150 flights were cancelled and 374 flights were delayed at the Jeddah airport on Sunday, according to the flight tracking website Flightradar24.
