Iran‑backed Houthi rebels in Yemen on Monday said that it fired missiles at Saudi Arabia after accusing the kingdom of bombing an airport under their control, shattering a four‑year truce in the conflict, Reuters reports.
Saudi Arabia’s military coalition said it intercepted missiles “launched by the terrorist Houthi militia toward the southern region,” according to a statement on X.
Houthi military spokesman Yahya Saree said the group had targeted Abha International Airport, the capital of a mountainous southern region bordering Yemen where Saudis often escape the summer heat.
The strikes marked the Houthis’ first claimed attack on Saudi Arabia since an informal truce took effect in March 2022 following assaults on Saudi energy infrastructure.
Monday’s violence raised fears of renewed conflict along Saudi Arabia’s southern border, coming after Iranian drone and missile attacks on its eastern regions and Riyadh subsided under an April truce in the Iran conflict.
However, no casualties were immediately reported from either attack, reports AP.
He also warned commercial airlines against using Saudi airspace until what he called the blockade on Sanaa International Airport is lifted.
Saudi authorities did not immediately comment on the reported strikes. However, the spokesperson for the Saudi-led coalition, Maj Gen Turki al-Malki, later said Saudi air defenses had intercepted ballistic missiles launched toward the kingdom’s southern region without providing further details.
Earlier in the day, Yemen’s internationally recognised government said the strike on Sanaa airport was intended to prevent an Iranian aircraft from landing.
Yemeni Defense Minister Gen Taher al-Aqili said the airport runway was targeted to stop an Iranian plane from returning a Houthi delegation from Tehran following the funeral of Iran’s late Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, AP added.
According to the Houthis, the Iranian aircraft was diverted to Hodeida Airport instead.
The Yemeni government also announced the closure of all airports across the country until further notice and ordered the evacuation of Sanaa airport and surrounding areas.
The Presidential Leadership Council said it had rejected Iran’s request to allow a Mahan Air flight from Tehran to Sanaa, accusing the Houthis of attempting to receive the aircraft outside established civil aviation procedures.
The latest exchange marks the most serious confrontation between the Houthis and Saudi Arabia since a UN-brokered truce took effect in 2022, ending years of frequent cross-border attacks.
The developments prompted an emergency meeting of the UN Security Council, where UN Assistant Secretary-General for Political Affairs Khaled Khiari warned against a renewed cycle of violence.
“Yemen and the wider region cannot afford another cycle of escalation,” he said, urging all parties to return to negotiations under UN mediation.
UN Special Envoy for Yemen Hans Grundberg also voiced concern over the deteriorating situation and called for dialogue to preserve the relative calm that has largely held since 2022.
Yemen’s civil war began in 2014 when the Houthis seized the capital, Sanaa, prompting a Saudi-led military intervention the following year in support of the internationally recognized government.
