Sanaa, Yemen. Yemen’s Iran-aligned Houthi movement accused Saudi Arabia on Monday of launching airstrikes against Sanaa International Airport and vowed to retaliate. The internationally recognised government said its forces had targeted the airport runway to prevent an Iranian aircraft from landing.
Houthi accusation
Houthi military spokesperson Yahya Saree described the alleged attacks as “blatant aggression” and said they had ended a period of de-escalation in Yemen’s long-running conflict.
Saree said Saudi Arabia would bear the consequences and that the attack would not go unanswered. Saudi Arabia’s government communication office did not immediately respond to the accusations.
Government account
Earlier on Monday, the defence ministry of Yemen’s internationally recognised government said its armed forces had targeted the runway at Sanaa International Airport to prevent an Iranian plane from landing.
A spokesperson for Yemen’s armed forces said the aircraft landed safely at Hodeidah airport, which is controlled by the Houthis. The internationally recognised government operates from the southern port city of Aden and is backed by Saudi Arabia and other Gulf states.
Diplomatic efforts and aircraft detention claim
Yemen’s defence minister said the government had exhausted diplomatic efforts to persuade Iran and the Houthis to stop what he described as Iranian aircraft violating Yemeni airspace.
He said government forces would respond to any hostile aircraft violating Yemen’s airspace “by all available means” and held Iran responsible.
Moammar bin Mutahar Al-Eryan, information minister in the internationally recognised government, said the Houthis were detaining an International Committee of the Red Cross aircraft at Sanaa airport and holding its pilot and co-pilot.
Conflict background
Yemen has faced civil war and proxy warfare involving outside powers for more than a decade, since the Houthis seized the capital and forced the internationally recognised government to relocate south.
A 2022 truce has largely held after years of fighting between a Saudi-led coalition and the Houthis, despite regional escalation linked to the Israel-Gaza war, during which the Houthis fired on Red Sea shipping, as well as the Iran conflict.
The civil war flared last year after a United Arab Emirates-backed separatist movement swept through southern territory, splintering the Saudi-led coalition formed to fight the Houthi movement.
