Saudi, Iranian Ministers Discuss Regional Escalation

Saudi Foreign Minister Prince Faisal bin Farhan received a call from Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi to discuss recent regional escalation and efforts to address it, the Saudi side said. The call was the first publicly reported contact between the ministers since Houthi forces intensified attacks on Saudi Arabia. Saudi authorities said an October 10 attack on Riyadh's King Khalid International Airport killed 12 people and injured 309. The dead included four Saudis, two Bangladeshi residents, and one citizen each from the US, Egypt, Jordan, Syria, Palestine and Sudan. Faisal also spoke with UK Foreign Secretary Ed Miliband, who condemned Houthi attacks on civilian facilities and expressed solidarity with Saudi Arabia and Yemen's government, and with Syrian Foreign Minister Asaad al-Shaibani, who condemned the Riyadh attack. UK Defense Minister Wes Streeting told Sky News the attack was a dangerous escalation and a contemptible pattern of Houthi strikes on civilian sites, citing UK air-defense and refueling support for Saudi Arabia. Riyadh and Dammam airports were attacked again; the coalition said it intercepted a cruise missile, a drone, and a ballistic missile. Spokesman Turki al-Malki called the Riyadh terminal strike a war crime and said the joint command would respond. Airport operations in Riyadh were temporarily suspended.