Houthis accuse Saudi Arabia of striking Sanaa airport over Iranian plane

Yemen’s internationally recognized government said it struck the runway at Sanaa International Airport to stop an Iranian Mahan Air aircraft from landing in the Houthi-held capital, and the Houthis quickly blamed Saudi Arabia for the attack. Saudi Arabia then said it intercepted ballistic missiles fired at the kingdom’s south, deepening fears that the airport dispute could crack a years-long truce between Riyadh and the Iran-aligned movement.

The government, which operates from Aden and is backed by Saudi Arabia and other Gulf states, framed the Iranian flight as a direct challenge to Yemen’s sovereignty. The Yemeni Presidential Leadership Council, based in Riyadh, condemned the planned landing of the Iranian civilian aircraft in Houthi-controlled Sanaa and called for international action, underscoring how air access, territorial control and regional influence remain tightly linked in the conflict.

The Houthis said the strike on the airport runway forced the plane to divert to Hodeidah. That claim followed days of rising tension over the flight, which the group had already used to justify threats against Saudi airports and vital assets after accusing Saudi jets of trying to block the aircraft from landing in Sanaa on July 3.

The exchange exposed how easily a single airport incident can reverberate across the wider Red Sea security map. Iran’s role in the dispute, the use of civilian air travel as a political symbol, and the missile fire toward southern Saudi Arabia all pointed to a conflict that has not fully cooled despite the 2022 de-escalation phase. If the truce unravels, the damage would not stay at the runway: Yemen’s already strained civilian population would face another round of insecurity, isolation and humanitarian pressure.