Web Desk: Yemen’s Houthi movement launched missiles toward Saudi Arabia after accusing the kingdom of carrying out airstrikes on an airport under its control, ending a four-year period of relative calm between Riyadh and the Iran-aligned group.
Saudi Arabia said it intercepted the incoming missiles before they reached their targets.
A spokesperson for the Saudi-led military coalition said on X that the kingdom’s air defenses had destroyed missiles “launched by the terrorist Houthi militia toward the southern region.”
Meanwhile, Houthi military spokesperson Yahya Saree said the group had targeted Abha International Airport in southwestern Saudi Arabia. The airport serves the city of Abha, near the Yemeni border, a popular summer destination for Saudis seeking cooler temperatures.
The missile launches marked the Houthis’ first publicly acknowledged attack on Saudi territory since an informal truce took effect in March 2022 following earlier Houthi strikes on Saudi oil facilities.
Earlier on Monday, the Houthis accused Saudi Arabia of bombing Sanaa International Airport, which lies in territory under their control. The group described the attack as “blatant aggression,” declared an end to the de-escalation period, and pledged retaliation.
In addition, the Houthis warned airlines against operating in Saudi airspace until what they called the “siege” on Sanaa airport was lifted.
However, Yemen’s internationally recognized government, which receives significant backing from Riyadh, claimed responsibility for the airport strike rather than Saudi Arabia.
The Yemeni Defence Ministry said government forces targeted the runway at Sanaa International Airport to prevent an Iranian aircraft from landing, arguing that the flight violated Yemen’s sovereignty.
The ministry added that its forces would respond “by all available means” to any aircraft entering Yemeni airspace without authorization and blamed Iran for the incident.
Later, a military spokesperson said the aircraft ultimately landed at Hodeidah Airport, which is controlled by the Houthis on Yemen’s Red Sea coast, about 150 kilometers southwest of Sanaa. Officials did not say whether any attempt had been made to stop the aircraft before it reached Hodeidah.
Separately, a Yemeni minister said the Houthis were holding an aircraft belonging to the International Committee of the Red Cross at Sanaa airport.
ICRC Middle East spokesperson Hachem Osseiran said all staff members and the flight crew were safe and accounted for but declined to provide additional details.
The development came days after an ICRC-mediated prisoner exchange between the Houthis and Yemen’s internationally recognized government collapsed, with both sides blaming each other, underscoring rising tensions.
Monday’s exchange of attacks raised the prospect of renewed conflict along Saudi Arabia’s southern border after months of relative stability.
The confrontation also followed a reduction in direct regional hostilities after an April truce involving Iran helped ease drone and missile attacks on Saudi territory.
Saudi Arabia has remained more resilient than many smaller Gulf states during previous regional conflicts because it can continue exporting crude through an east-to-west pipeline that reaches the Red Sea, bypassing the Strait of Hormuz.
Nevertheless, a renewed confrontation with the Houthis could threaten regional energy security. The group has previously targeted commercial shipping in the Red Sea, raising concerns over one of the world’s most important maritime trade routes.
Yemen has endured more than a decade of civil war since the Houthis seized the capital, Sanaa, forcing the internationally recognized government to relocate to the south.
Saudi Arabia led a military coalition that intervened in 2015 to restore the government, a campaign that contributed to one of the world’s worst humanitarian crises.
Although violence surged again late last year after a United Arab Emirates-backed separatist movement captured territory in southern Yemen, fracturing the anti-Houthi coalition, the 2022 truce between Saudi Arabia and the Houthis had largely remained intact.
Despite continued regional tensions linked to the Israel-Gaza war and Houthi attacks on vessels in the Red Sea, Monday’s missile exchanges signaled the most significant breakdown in Saudi-Houthi de-escalation in more than four years.
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