Illustrative image. (U.S. Air Force photo by Staff Sgt. Katherine Walters)
A strike hit the runway of the Houthi-controlled Sanaa International Airport on July 13, preventing an Iranian plane from landing.
Despite Yemeni media reports attributing the strike to the Royal Saudi Air Force, the Yemeni Defense Ministry claimed responsibility.
In a statement, the ministry—a part of the internationally-recognized government loyal to the Riyadh-based Presidential Leadership Council—warned that its “patience has run out,” saying that it would respond to any Iranian and Houthi violations of Yemen’s airspace.
“The Yemeni Armed Forces have stated that they belong to the Yemeni people in particular and to the Yemeni people in general,” a spokesperson for the ministry said.
“The Yemeni legitimate government, in cooperation with the regional and international community, and by all diplomatic and legal means, has tried to convince the Iranian regime and the Houthi coup militias in Sana’a to return to the armed forces and not to penetrate the Yemeni airspace with the Iranian planes,” he added.
Yemen’s Information Minister Muammar al-Iryani also said that the Houthis have detained an International Committee of the Red Cross aircraft, holding its pilot and co-pilot at Sana’a airport.
After the strike, the Iranian plane diverted from Sanaa and landed at another airport in the western Yemeni province of Hodeidah, also controlled by the Houthis.
The Houthis, for their part, held Saudi Arabia responsible for the strike. “Response will be decisive,” Houthi spokesperson Yahya Saree said in a statement following the strikes, according to the Houthi-aligned Al-Masirah.
Earlier in the month, Houthi air defenses fired at Saudi fighter jets that attempted to intercept a similar flight from Iran. The plane managed to land at Sanaa, marking the first such flight from the Islamic Republic in over a decade. The kingdom later threatened the Houthis.
This escalation came amid rising tribal tensions in Yemen. Several tribes have rallied against the Houthis in recent weeks after a fraudster falsely claiming to be a secret daughter of the late Iraqi president Saddam Hussein, named “Mira,” accused the group of stealing her properties. Saudi Arabia was accused of backing these tribes.
The Houthis will certainly respond to the latest strike on Sanaa by directly attacking Saudi Arabia. This could very well reignite the war in Yemen.
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the yemeni sand apes are being taught a lesson!