Strikes Put Saudi Arabia’s Economy Under Pressure

Andrew here. We’re tracking the fallout from the latest attacks on Saudi Arabia, especially on its main airport — including whether the U.S. will join Saudi retaliatory strikes and whether the violence will deter attendees from this month’s F.I.I. conference. We’re also analyzing the blowback to President Trump’s decision to allow Russian diesel sales.

Also, pay attention to an essay by Satya Nadella of Microsoft published over the weekend about building A.I. systems that prioritize human verification over blind trust. He argues that relying on human oversight is crucial for safety but also says it creates a verification tax — a concept we highlighted on Saturday — that could significantly offset A.I.’s promised productivity gains.

How will Saudi Arabia respond?

Saudi officials were defiant on Monday after a series of devastating attacks by the Iranian-backed Houthi militia of Yemen, whose government Saudi Arabia backs. The violence included strikes over the weekend on the airport in Riyadh, the capital, that have killed at least 14 people.

Government leaders tried to show that it was business as usual, including by going forward with a major energy conference. But the violence raises questions about how the country’s core industries will cope — and what that might mean for global markets.

Article source: https://www.nytimes.com/2026/10/12/business/dealbook/saudi-arabia-strikes-energy-airport.html