Houthis Threaten Saudis Over Alleged Airspace Intrusion

Yemen’s Houthi rebels issued threats on Friday against Saudi Arabia’s airports and key assets if Riyadh violates their airspace or attempts to attack them. The warning came after a period of relative calm, during which the kingdom did not target Gulf states amid the Middle East conflict that saw Iran strike its oil-rich neighbors.

Military spokesman Yahya Saree warned the “criminal Saudi enemy” against any further violations and stated that such actions would be met with a comprehensive response targeting airports and vital interests on land and sea. The rebels claimed they had thwarted an attempt by Saudi warplanes to infiltrate their airspace at 5:20 a.m., in order to prevent an Iranian civilian aircraft carrying over 200 stranded, wounded, and sick citizens from landing at Sanaa International Airport.

The Houthi media reported that the aircraft was headed back to Tehran with the Houthis’ delegation meant for the funeral of Iran’s former supreme leader killed in US-Israeli strikes. The rebels vowed their fighters were ready for “any options” and prepared to implement directives aimed at breaking the Saudi-American siege, though they did not provide further details.

The renewed threats follow months since the Saudi-backed government and Houthi rebels agreed on May to conduct their largest prisoner exchange, which included seven Saudi nationals. The conflict between the two sides has been largely frozen since a UN-negotiated truce in 2022, with the Houthis controlling Yemen’s capital Sanaa and much of the north, while the internationally-recognized government holds most of the south.