Yemeni forces struck the runway of the Houthi-controlled Sana’a International Airport to prevent an Iranian plane from landing, the anti-Houthi Yemeni Defense Ministry confirmed.
Earlier anti-Houthi media reports in Yemen indicated that Saudi Arabia’s Air Force was responsible for the strikes.
Riyadh is the main military backer of the anti-Houthi Presidential Leadership Council, and has conducted strikes on Houthi targets, including in Sana’a, on the PLC’s behalf throughout the civil war.
At the same time, the Yemeni Defense Ministry issued a statement warning that its “patience has run out,” saying that it would respond to any Iranian and Houthi violations of Yemen’s airspace.
“The Yemeni Armed Forces have stated that they belong to the Yemeni people in particular and to the Yemeni people in general,” a spokesperson for the Yemeni Defense Ministry stated.
مشاهد أولية من استهداف العدوان السعودي #مطار_صنعاء الدولي بعدد من الغارات pic.twitter.com/tIIosMayRf
— مطار صنعاء الدولي Sana’a Int’I Airport (@Sanaaairport) July 13, 2026
“The Yemeni legitimate government, in cooperation with the regional and international community, and by all diplomatic and legal means, has tried to convince the Iranian regime and the Houthi coup militias in Sana’a to return to the armed forces and not to penetrate the Yemeni airspace with the Iranian planes.”
Sana’a residents also reported hearing several airstrikes near the airport as warplanes flew over the city.
#Breaking: The Yemeni Armed Forces have issued a strong statement over Iran’s blatant violation of Yemen’s airspace and sovereignty, delivering a stern warning to Tehran and vowing severe consequences in response. pic.twitter.com/EEfCDNJUQG
— Salman Al-Ansari | سلمان الأنصاري (@Salansar1) July 13, 2026
Houthis take Red Cross aircraft hostage
Yemen’s Information Minister, Moamar Al-Eryani, reported that the Houthis have detained an International Committee of the Red Cross aircraft, holding its pilot and co-pilot at Sana’a airport, in a posted statement to his X/Twitter account Monday.
Al-Eryani called the hostage-taking ‘a dangerous escalation and blatant violation of international humanitarian law’ in his statement on Monday.
في هذه اللحظات أقدمت مليشيا الحوثي الإرهابية على احتجاز طائرة اللجنة الدولية للصليب الأحمر الدولي في مطار صنعاء، ومنعت مغادرتها، كما احتجزت الطيار ومساعده كرهينتين، في تصعيد خطير وانتهاك سافر للقانون الدولي الإنساني ولكافة الأعراف والمواثيق الدولية التي تكفل حماية البعثات…
— معمر الإرياني (@ERYANIM) July 13, 2026
Yemen’s warning to Iran, the Houthis
On Thursday, Al Jazeera reported that Yemen’s Information Minister had issued a warning to Iran and the Houthis against using direct flights between Tehran and Sana’a as a cover for transferring military personnel.
The “response will be decisive,” Houthi spokesperson Yahya Saree said in a statement following the strikes, according to the Houthi-aligned Al-Masirah.
“This aggression will not pass without a response and punishment,” Saree went on, according to Al Mayadeen, adding that the attack was “bringing an end to the de-escalation phase” in his group’s confrontation with Riyadh.
Yemen’s capital Sana’a is under the control of the Houthis, while the internationally recognized government, which has the backing of Saudi Arabia and other Gulf states, operates out of Aden in southern Yemen.
The Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC)-run Fars reported that the plane eventually landed at Yemen’s Hodeidah International Airport.
This is a developing story.
Reuters contributed to this report.
