Smoke rises after reports of an airstrike hitting near the Sanaa International Airport Smoke rises following an airstrike after Yemen's defense ministry said that its armed forces had targeted the runway at Sanaa International Airport, in Sanaa, Yemen, July 13, 2026. REUTERS/Khaled Abdullah REFILE - ADDING INFORMATION ABOUT THE DEFENSE MINISTRY STATEMENT.
Yemen's internationally-recognized said it struck Sanaa airport Monday, as the Houthis blamed the government's Saudi backer for the attack, in the biggest escalation in years between authorities and the Iran-backed rebels.
The government said it wanted to prevent an Iranian plane from landing in the Yemeni capital, after they failed to convince the Houthi delegation that went to Tehran for the late supreme leader's funeral to board a Yemenia flight instead.
"The terrorist Houthi militias — backed by the Iranian regime — prevented Yemeni national aircraft from landing at the airport in the capital, Sanaa, while insisting on allowing an Iranian plane to violate Yemeni territory; consequently, the airport runway was targeted," the Yemeni defense ministry said.
The Houthi's al-Masirah TV had previously reported that "Saudi aggression targeted the departure and landing runways at the Sanaa international airport."
Tensions had been rising for days, as the Houthis accused Saudi Arabia earlier this month of attacking an Iranian plane that landed in Sanaa and took off carrying the delegation.
The rebels had threatened at the time to hit Saudi airports and vital assets should Riyadh violate its airspace or attempt to attack it again.
The latest escalation raised the specter of renewed Houthi attacks on Saudi Arabia after years of relative calm.
Houthi military spokesman Yahya Saree accused Saudi Arabia of "ending the de-escalation phase and bearing full responsibility for the consequences of its aggression. We affirm that this aggression will not go unanswered or unpunished."
