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The US-designated terrorist Houthi movement, which controls northern Yemen, condemned Saudi Arabia for reportedly targeting Sanaa airport with air strikes, marking the beginning of a potential new front with terror-proxy Iran.
While the Houthis agreed to a 2022 ceasefire with the Saudi-led coalition that opposes its rule, the Houthis have frequently disrupted commercial shipping in the Red Sea since joining Hamas following the October 7, 2023 invasion of Israel. The latest flare-up of military attacks could reignite the war between the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and the Houthis.
Houthi military spokesman Yahya Sari called the attacks “gross aggression” and said they ended a period of de-escalation. He said Saudi Arabia will face consequences and the attack will not go unanswered. Houthis threaten to attack King Khalid Airport in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. “Iran condemns the Saudi attack on Sanaa airport and calls it a violation of the law and Yemeni sovereignty,” Iran’s Press TV reported on its X account.
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In this screengrab from a video, smoke is seen rising after an airstrike at Sanaa International Airport in Sanaa, Yemen, on July 13, 2026. (Al Masirah handout via Reuters)
The official slogan of the Houthi movement (Ansar Allah) is: “God is great, death to America, death to Israel, curse to the Jews, victory to Islam.”
Earlier on Monday, the government’s Defense Ministry had said that the runway of Sanaa International Airport was targeted to prevent an Iranian plane from landing. A spokesman for the armed forces later said the plane had landed at Houthi-controlled Hodeidah airport.
“The Iranian-backed Houthi militia is now in a desperate situation, attempting to demonstrate its usefulness to its Iranian masters amid the ongoing US-Iran war,” prominent Saudi geopolitical analyst Salman al-Ansari told Fox News Digital.
Yemen’s Iran-backed armed Houthi group has warned that it will move to close the Bab al-Mandeb strait through missile-drone attacks if the Gulf country joins the US-Israeli war on Iran. (Mohammed Hamoud/Getty Images)
He said, “This is an action taken by the legitimate government of Yemen in response to a violation of its airspace and sovereignty. It was not carried out by Saudi Arabia or the coalition. Yemeni forces attacked the runway at Sanaa International Airport after the terrorist Houthi militia disregarded international law by allowing unauthorized Iranian flights into Yemen, despite measures to prevent smuggling of weapons and explosives.”
According to al-Ansari, “The Houthis know that these flights can land normally if they follow the agreed route through Jordan’s airport for inspection purposes. The Houthis are currently at one of their weakest points, especially after the legitimate government of Yemen consolidated effective authority over 80% of the country’s territory. This is a notable departure from the past, when the legitimate government was divided between two rival camps.”
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A Houthi rebel fighter shoots into the air during a gathering in Sanaa, Yemen, Thursday, Aug. 1, 2019, aimed at mobilizing more fighters for their movement. The conflict in Yemen began with the Houthis taking over Sanaa in 2014, ousting the internationally recognized government. Months later, in March 2015, the Saudi-led coalition began its air campaign to prevent rebels from taking over the south of the country. (AP Photo/Honey Mohammad)
Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Israel, Lebanon and other Sunni Gulf countries have expressed concerns about the Iranian regime’s plan to establish a so-called “Shia Crescent” that extends from Iran to Lebanon and includes terrorist proxies such as the Houthis and Hezbollah in Lebanon.
Al-Ansari said that “By confronting the Houthis, the legitimate government of Yemen is not only protecting its sovereignty; it is helping protect the region and the broader world from Iran’s terrorist network.”
“The Houthis’ warning that the attack on Sanaa airport ‘will not go unanswered’ should be taken seriously. But the significance of the incident goes beyond the possibility of retaliation,” Nadwa al-Dawsari, a Yemen expert and associate fellow at the Middle East Institute, told Fox News Digital.
He said, “The dispute was never really about civil aviation or the return of the Houthi delegation from Tehran. The Yemeni government had agreed to facilitate the return of the delegation on Yemeni aircraft. The issue was the Iranian aircraft itself.”
Houthi militants wave British and American flags at a rally in support of Palestinians in the Gaza Strip, and the Houthis recently attacked shipping in the Red Sea and the Gulf of Aden on the outskirts of Sanaa, Yemen, February 4, 2024. (Mohammed Hamoud/Getty Images)
He said that “By going ahead with the Mahan Air flight despite Yemeni objections and ensuring that it reached Houthi-controlled Yemen anyway, Iran and the Houthis were sending a political message: Tehran intends to normalize direct and public relations with Houthi-controlled Yemen and is ready to challenge the sanctions that have controlled access to the country since 2015.”
The US government sanctioned Mahan Air for its role in supplying weapons and technology to terrorist groups such as Hezbollah.
Al-Dawsari said, “What we are increasingly seeing is a pattern in which Iran and its proxies create facts on the ground, betting that regional and international actors have little appetite for escalating tensions and that they will eventually adjust to them. We have seen the same approach in the Strait of Hormuz.”
Pro-Iran protesters hold up billboards depicting Iranian Supreme Leader Ali Hosseini Khamenei, flags of Yemen and Iran, wave weapons and chant slogans while taking part in a rally to condemn US-Israeli airstrikes on Iran and the assassination of the Iranian Supreme Leader and several military officers in Sanaa, Yemen, on March 1, 2026. (Mohammed Hamoud/Getty Images)
He added, “The episode also highlights the growing importance of the Houthis within Iran’s regional networks. While other members of the axis of resistance have weakened in recent years, the Houthis have emerged as Tehran’s most capable and strategically important partner, particularly in the Red Sea and the Horn of Africa.”
The Saudi government communications office did not immediately respond to the allegations, according to Reuters.
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According to the Middle East Media Research Institute (MEMRI), Houthi Political Bureau member Muhammad al-Farah wrote on Telegram that the Bab al-Mandab Strait would join the Strait of Hormuz regarding the disruption and possible closure due to the alleged Saudi attack. As a result, the price of a barrel of oil will rise to $200 and these attacks give the Houthis a reason to “strike back and liberate Yemen from occupation.”
Fox News Digital referred press questions to the State Department.
Reuters contributed to this report.
