Yemeni government strikes Sana’a airport as tensions surge
SANAA – Yemen’s internationally-recognised government launched airstrikes on Sana’a International Airport on Monday to prevent an Iranian aircraft from landing, opening a new chapter in the country’s long-running conflict and threatening to unravel years of fragile de-escalation.
The Iran-backed Houthi movement said several strikes hit the airport runway and accused the government and its Saudi-backed allies of carrying out “blatant aggression,” warning that the attack “will not go unanswered or unpunished.”
The strikes came hours after Yemen’s Defence Ministry warned that the armed forces would respond to what it described as repeated Iranian and Houthi violations of the country’s sovereign airspace.
Defence Minister Lieutenant General Taher al-Aqili said the government had exhausted diplomatic and legal channels in trying to persuade Tehran and the Houthis to halt direct flights into Houthi-controlled Sanaa.
“The patience has run out,” Aqili said, adding that the armed forces would deal “by all available means” with any aircraft violating Yemen’s airspace.
Yemeni media said the runway was targeted to prevent an Iranian aircraft carrying a Houthi delegation from landing after approaching Yemeni airspace through Oman.
Residents reported hearing several explosions around the airport as military aircraft flew over the capital.
The confrontation highlights an increasingly contentious front in Yemen’s conflict, where control over the country’s airspace has become as politically sensitive as control over territory.
Sana’a airport has remained under Houthi control since the group seized the capital in 2014. While the Houthis administer the airport in practice, the internationally-recognised government maintains that Yemen’s airports and airspace remain under the exclusive authority of the state and rejects any international flights not approved through official institutions.
The Houthis insist they have the right to operate civilian flights from areas under their control and accuse their opponents of maintaining an unlawful blockade on Yemen.
The government, however, argues that direct flights from Iran amount to an infringement of Yemen’s sovereignty and could be used to deepen Tehran’s support for the Houthis.
The airport has become one of the most sensitive unresolved issues in peace efforts, alongside disputes over ports, roads, salaries and political arrangements.
The latest escalation comes against the backdrop of mounting regional tensions involving Iran, raising concerns that Yemen could once again become a theatre for broader regional confrontation after months of relative calm.