Yemen's Houthis Says Fired Missiles At Saudi Airport, Warn Airlines To Avoid Airspace
Yemen's Houthis Says Fired Missiles At Saudi Airport, Warn Airlines To Avoid Airspace Published By, Last Updated: July 14, 2026, 01:00 IST The Houthis said
Yemen's Houthis Says Fired Missiles At Saudi Airport, Warn Airlines To Avoid Airspace Published By, Last Updated: July 14, 2026, 01:00 IST The Houthis said the attack was retaliation for strikes on Sanaa International Airport, which they blamed on Saudi Arabia. The entrance of Abha airport in the popular mountain resort of Abha in the southwest of Saudi Arabia. (AFP file photo) Yemen’s Iran-backed Houthi rebels said they launched missiles and drones at Saudi Arabia’s Abha International Airport on Monday, warning airlines against flying through Saudi airspace as the latest escalation threatens to upend a fragile conflict that had remained largely frozen. The Houthis said the attack was retaliation for strikes on Sanaa International Airport, which they blamed on Saudi Arabia. The Saudi-backed Yemeni government had claimed responsibility for those strikes, saying they were carried out to stop an Iranian aircraft from landing at the Houthi-controlled airport.
Houthi military spokesman Yahya Saree said the group had carried out a military operation against Abha airport using ballistic missiles and unmanned aerial vehicles. “In response to this criminal Saudi aggression, the Yemeni Armed Forces carried out a military operation targeting Abha International Airport, using a number of ballistic missiles and unmanned aerial vehicles," the Houthi spokesman said in a video statement. He also “all airlines against overflying the airspace of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia" and stress that these warnings should be “taken seriously" until restrictions on Sanaa airport were lifted. Houthi-Saudi Tensions Flare The latest confrontation erupted after the Saudi-backed government said its forces targeted Sanaa airport to prevent an Iranian plane from landing. The strike came after authorities failed to convince a Houthi delegation, which travelled to Tehran for the funeral of Iran’s late Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei, to return on a domestic Yemenia flight instead.
Yemen’s defence ministry accused the Houthis of “allowing an Iranian plane to violate Yemeni territory", saying the airport runway was targeted as a result. The latest escalation threatens to unravel a truce that has held since 2022 despite officially expiring, and comes amid heightened regional tensions as the US and Iran exchange attacks affecting the Gulf and traffic through the Strait of Hormuz. For more than a decade, aircraft entering Yemeni airspace have required prior clearance from the Saudi-led coalition backing the government, which says it enforces the restriction at Yemen’s request. The Houthis appeared to challenge this arrangement by organising direct flights from Iran to Sanaa, angering the government and its Saudi backer. (With inputs from AFP) News18 Newsletter Handpicked stories, in your inbox A newsletter with the best of our journalism submit About the Author News Desk The News Desk is a team of passionate editors and writers who break and analyse the most important events unfolding in India and abroad.
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