Trump: Attack on Riyadh airport 'unacceptable'

U.S. President Donald Trump condemned the terrorist attack by the Houthi militia on King Khalid International Airport in Riyadh, which killed 12 people and injured 309. In remarks to journalists, Trump said, “What happened is horrific and unacceptable.”

For his part, U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio strongly condemned the Houthi attacks, including the strike targeting King Khalid International Airport in Riyadh. Rubio described these attacks as “shameful,” reflecting a blatant disregard for the lives of innocent civilians, and called for them to stop immediately. He reaffirmed U.S. solidarity with the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and its people, expressing his condolences to the victims’ families.

On the ground, U.S. Central Command (CENTCOM) announced that its forces disabled a commercial cargo ship in the Gulf of Oman two days ago, after the ship’s crew ignored repeated warnings and attempted to breach the current naval blockade imposed on Iran. CENTCOM stated that a U.S. fighter jet targeted the stern of the Panama-flagged vessel Ocean Molly (also known as “Arica Sun”) with precision-guided munitions, completely disabling the ship’s propulsion system without harming the crew. The large cargo ship had been attempting to cross territorial waters after departing from an Iranian port earlier.

CENTCOM previously announced the resumption of the U.S. blockade on all ships entering or leaving Iranian ports on July 14. It reported that four commercial vessels were disabled and 135 others were forced to alter course and return during the first three months of strict enforcement of the blockade. Additionally, U.S. forces destroyed ten tankers linked to the secret network of Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, valued at billions of dollars, during the same period.