Houthi-run Al-Masirah TV reported Saudi Arabia launching airstrikes on Sanaa International Airport’s runways in Yemen. Yemen’s armed forces have called for the airport’s immediate evacuation. The strikes occurred as an Iranian passenger plane carrying a Houthi delegation was en route from Tehran to the Houthi-controlled airport in Yemen.
There has been no confirmation from Saudi Arabia yet, and the extent of the damage remains uncertain, as per Xinhua news agency. Yemeni Defence Minister Taher Al-Aqili warned earlier that any hostile aircraft breaching Yemeni airspace would face retaliation by the armed forces.
The Iranian passenger plane involved is the same one that transported over 200 Yemeni patients and stranded passengers from Tehran to Sanaa International Airport on July 4. It later departed for Tehran with a senior Houthi delegation attending Iran’s late Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei’s funeral ceremonies.
On July 3, the Houthi group reported its air defence forces intercepting Saudi warplanes that allegedly entered Yemeni airspace to block an Iranian civilian aircraft from landing at Sanaa International Airport. The Houthi delegation has insisted on returning on the same Iranian aircraft, rejecting the government’s offer to facilitate their return on a different plane under government supervision.
Amid an intensified Houthi mobilisation campaign, the group has been organizing tribal gatherings, armed rallies, and public demonstrations in areas under its control. They have also renewed calls to end what they term a Saudi-led blockade. Yemen has been embroiled in conflict since late 2014 when the Houthis took over Sanaa, leading to a Saudi-led coalition intervention in support of the internationally recognized government.
