Targeting Saudi Arabia directly undermines the security of the UAE and all Gulf states, Dr. Anwar Gargash, Diplomatic Adviser to the UAE President, stated on Monday following a week of repeated attacks on the Kingdom.
In a statement posted on X, Dr. Gargash addressed the spillover of the wider US-Iran conflict, noting that aggressors mistakenly viewed Gulf Arab states as the weakest link in a war they had sought to avoid. “It has become clear that we are all targets and that our security is indivisible,” he said.
Dr. Gargash urged Gulf nations to revitalize collective security and defence mechanisms, stressing that shared responsibility cannot be neglected or delayed. He pointed out that previous shortcomings in joint action had encouraged external forces to overstep.
His remarks follow escalating hostilities between Saudi Arabia and Yemen’s Iran-aligned Houthi group. According to Saudi civil aviation authorities, the death toll from the October 10 strike on King Khalid International Airport in Riyadh rose to 13, including four Saudi nationals, with over 300 injured. A subsequent attack on the airport on October 11 killed one Pakistani resident and injured 11 others, bringing the total fatalities at the aviation hub over the past week to 18.
Operations at Riyadh airport have been temporarily suspended as a result. Flight schedule data compiled by Cirium as of 5:30 AM UAE time on Monday showed widespread disruptions across Saudi Arabia, with 362 of 1,048 scheduled departures (34.54%) cancelled or marked as no-fly.
