Riyadh tower closes offices after 13 airport deaths

Riyadh’s Kingdom Center ordered mandatory remote work for office tenants on Sunday, moving the 99-storey skyscraper off-site after repeated Houthi attacks on Saudi Arabia.

Reaction pending. The order followed a Houthi attack on Riyadh’s international airport a week earlier that killed 13 people, while coalition officials said two pilots died in a crash near the Yemen border.

Kingdom Center security risk

The announcement gave no reason for the order and said remote work would remain in place until further notice. The tower is one of Riyadh’s best-known commercial landmarks, so the office closure moves the security risk from border areas into the capital’s business district.

Officials said the Saudi-led coalition has fought the Houthis for more than a decade, with cross-border attacks reported by both sides during the US-Iran war. The latest incidents add pressure on Saudi air defenses and corporate security planning in Riyadh.

For global markets, the mechanism is risk pricing rather than a confirmed supply loss. If attacks remain focused on airports and offices, the impact is mainly political and operational; if fire shifts toward energy infrastructure, oil traders are likely to reassess Gulf supply risk.

Through Oct. 19, the immediate test is whether remote-work orders remain confined to Kingdom Center or spread to other Saudi business districts and transport sites.