Airline captain among three dead after Houthi strike on Riyadh airport

Three people, including Saudia Airlines pilot Captain Hamoud Ali al-Kalthami, were killed in an Iran-backed Houthi missile strike on King Khalid International Airport in Riyadh, marking the deadliest attack in Saudi Arabia since its recent military offensive.

The strike caused widespread flight disruptions and prompted international carriers like Lufthansa to suspend services, while the UK Foreign Office updated its travel advice to warn against all but essential travel to several Saudi regions.

The US Treasury imposed sanctions on 17 oil and gas tankers linked to Iran's shadow network, aiming to cut off funding for Tehran's Revolutionary Guard amidst the ongoing conflict.

Donald Trump claimed that productive discussions regarding the conflict with Iran are taking place, even as a Pew Research Center poll revealed that 65 per cent of Americans disapprove of his handling of the war.

In related developments, OpenAI dismantled an Iranian ChatGPT-driven influence network attempting to place fake articles online, while Russian President Vladimir Putin offered Moscow's assistance to resolve the conflict during a meeting with Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian.