Houthis Threaten to Target Saudi Airports, Accuse it of Violating Yemen's Airspace

SadaNews - The Houthi rebels accused Saudi Arabia of violating Yemen's airspace today, Friday, in an attempt "to prevent an Iranian civilian aircraft" from landing in Sana'a, threatening to target the country's airports if this occurs again.

This comes after a period of calm between the Iran-backed Houthis and Saudi Arabia, which has led a military coalition against them since 2015, supporting the internationally recognized Yemeni government.

The military spokesman for the Houthis, Yahya Saree, stated: "This Friday morning... a formation of enemy Saudi warplanes breached the airspace of Yemeni provinces in an attempt to prevent an Iranian civilian aircraft, which was carrying more than 200 citizens, the stranded, the injured, and the sick, from landing at Sana'a Airport," which is controlled by the Houthis.

Saree pointed out that they confronted the Saudi planes "by targeting them with a number of air defense missiles" and forcing them to leave Yemeni airspace.

He noted that the attempt to prevent the aircraft from landing "failed" and warned the "criminal Saudi enemy that any repeated attempt to breach the airspace" would be met with "a comprehensive response targeting its airports and vital interests on land and sea."

The spokesman emphasized the Houthis' readiness "for any options that the leader may take," referring to the leader of the Ansar Allah movement Abdul-Malik al-Houthi, stating that their hand is "on the trigger to carry out orders within the framework of lifting the Saudi-American siege on our dear people and expelling the occupiers."

Previously, the Houthi-affiliated channel "Al-Masirah" reported that the aircraft managed to land and subsequently carried the Houthi delegation participating in the funeral ceremonies for Ali Khamenei, the Iranian Supreme Leader, who was assassinated in American-Israeli strikes that ignited the war in February.

After the Houthis seized control of Sana'a in 2014, Saudi Arabia formed a military coalition against them to support the internationally recognized government, a move that exacerbated the conflict.

The war in Yemen has led to the deaths of thousands since 2015 and plunged one of the poorest countries in the Arabian Peninsula into one of the world's most severe humanitarian crises. The country has been divided into areas controlled by the Houthis and others by the government, which is based in the city of Aden in the south.

Yemen lives under a truce that began in April 2022, which has held largely despite its expiration in October of the same year.