Saudi Arabia and a Saudi-led coalition attributed Saturday's attack to the Houthis. The dead included four Saudi citizens, two Bangladeshi nationals, and one citizen each from the United States, Egypt, Jordan, Palestine, Syria, and Sudan. Witnesses described panic and chaos at the terminal. Saudi civil aviation authorities suspended airport operations and diverted flights, and several countries warned citizens to avoid the facility.

President Donald Trump said Saturday that Washington was considering joining Saudi strikes against the Houthis. The Houthi-run Health Ministry claimed that coalition strikes had killed 91 Yemenis over the preceding five weeks, 60% of them women and children.

UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres called the Riyadh attack a violation of international law. Secretary of State Marco Rubio denounced it, as did Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney, who called it "abhorrent." Pakistan, Qatar, Palestine, Egypt, and India expressed solidarity with Saudi Arabia.

The attack pushed up oil prices; Saudi Arabia is the world's top crude oil exporter. Despite the strikes, the 17th International Energy Forum Ministerial Meeting proceeded in Riyadh as scheduled. Pedro Miras, president of the World Petroleum Council, said "nothing is going to affect our dialogue."