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Yemen’s Houthi-run Al-Masirah TV reported on Monday that Saudi Arabia carried out several airstrikes targeting the runways of Sanaa International Airport in the Houthi-controlled Yemeni capital. Yemen’s armed forces urged the immediate evacuation of the airport.
The reported strikes came as an Iranian passenger aircraft carrying a Houthi delegation was en route to Sanaa from Tehran. There was no immediate confirmation from Saudi Arabia, and the extent of the damage remained unclear, according to Xinhua News Agency.
Earlier in the day, Yemeni Defence Minister Taher Al-Aqili warned in a televised statement that the armed forces would engage any hostile aircraft violating Yemeni airspace.
The Iranian passenger plane is the same aircraft that landed at Sanaa International Airport on July 4, transporting more than 200 Yemeni patients and stranded passengers from Tehran. It later returned to Iran carrying a senior Houthi delegation attending the funeral ceremonies of Iran’s late Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei.
On July 3, the Houthis said their air defence forces intercepted Saudi warplanes that allegedly entered Yemeni airspace to prevent the Iranian civilian aircraft from landing in Sanaa.
The Houthi delegation has insisted on returning aboard the same Iranian aircraft, rejecting the Yemeni government’s proposal to arrange its return on a different, non-Iranian plane operating under government supervision.
On Sunday, the Houthis warned Saudi Arabia and Yemen’s government against intercepting the flight.
The developments come amid heightened Houthi mobilisation, including tribal gatherings, armed rallies and public demonstrations across territories under their control, alongside renewed calls to end what the group describes as a Saudi-led blockade.
Yemen has remained embroiled in conflict since the Houthis seized Sanaa in late 2014, prompting a Saudi-led coalition to intervene in 2015 in support of the internationally recognised government.
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