Yemen’s Houthi terrorist group accused Saudi Arabia on Monday of launching airstrikes on Sanaa International Airport in an attempt to prevent an Iranian aircraft from landing there. Saudi Arabia has not confirmed carrying out the attack.
“In an unjust aggression, the Saudi enemy carried out several airstrikes against Sanaa International Airport,” Houthi military spokesman Yahya Saree said shortly after the first reports emerged.
Strikes in Sanaa
“The Saudi aggression against Sanaa airport has ended the phase of de-escalation, and it must bear the consequences of its aggression,” he added.
Senior Houthi official Hazem al-Assad also threatened later: "The Saudi regime will discover that it has dug its own grave," he said. Shortly before, the Houthi-affiliated Al-Masirah channel reported that the attacks in Sana'a were aimed at the airport's landing and takeoff runways. At the same time, residents in Sana'a reported to Reuters the sounds of explosions and fighter jets circling in the sky
The Houthi-affiliated Al-Masirah television channel said the strikes targeted the airport’s landing and takeoff runways. Residents of the Houthi-controlled capital reported hearing explosions and seeing warplanes circling overhead.
If confirmed, the attack would mark an unusual escalation by Riyadh, which in recent years has sought to preserve the relative calm reached with the Houthis in 2022 after years of Saudi-led airstrikes and Houthi attacks on Saudi oil facilities.
The arrangement has never amounted to a formal ceasefire. Saudi Arabia continues to support Yemen’s internationally recognized government, which controls much of the country’s south and east.
The reported strikes came several hours after Iran’s Fars News Agency said an Iranian passenger aircraft had already landed in Sanaa at around 9 a.m. local time and departed about an hour later.
“Some claim the plane belongs to Iran’s Mahan Air, but Yemeni authorities have not yet released information on the matter,” Fars reported.
In a separate incident whose connection to the reported strikes remained unclear, the Houthis said they had detained an aircraft belonging to the International Committee of the Red Cross and were holding its pilots at Sanaa airport.
The reason for the detention was not immediately known.