Yemen’s Houthi movement launched missiles toward Saudi Arabia after accusing the kingdom of carrying out airstrikes on an airport under its control, ending an informal four-year truce that had largely contained cross-border hostilities between Riyadh and the Iran-aligned group.
Saudi Arabia said it intercepted missiles launched by what it described as the “terrorist Houthi militia” toward the kingdom’s southern region, according to the spokesperson for the Saudi-led military coalition in Yemen. Houthi military spokesperson Yahya Saree said the group had targeted the international airport in Abha, the capital of Saudi Arabia’s mountainous southern region bordering Yemen. The strike marked the first attack claimed by the Houthis against Saudi Arabia since the informal truce took effect in March 2022 after earlier Houthi attacks on Saudi energy infrastructure.
The exchange of fire raised the prospect of renewed conflict along Saudi Arabia’s southern border after regional tensions had eased following an April truce involving Iran. Saudi Arabia continued oil exports during previous regional hostilities through an east-to-west pipeline that bypasses the Strait of Hormuz, but renewed conflict with the Houthis could create additional risks because of the group’s previous attacks on shipping in the Red Sea. Saudi Arabia’s government communication office did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Earlier in the day, the Houthis accused Saudi Arabia of launching airstrikes against Sanaa International Airport and declared that the attacks had ended a period of de-escalation. The group described the strikes as “blatant aggression” and warned airlines against operating in Saudi airspace until what it called the “siege” on Sanaa airport was lifted.
The airstrikes on Sanaa airport were claimed by Yemen’s internationally recognized government, which is backed by Saudi Arabia. Yemen’s Defense Ministry said the airport runway had been targeted to prevent an Iranian aircraft from landing in what it described as a violation of Yemeni sovereignty. The ministry said government forces would respond to any hostile aircraft entering Yemen’s airspace “by all available means” and held Iran responsible. An armed forces spokesperson later said the aircraft landed instead at Houthi-controlled Hodeidah airport on Yemen’s Red Sea coast. It remained unclear whether any effort had been made to prevent the landing.
A Yemeni government minister also said the Houthis were detaining an aircraft belonging to the International Committee of the Red Cross at Sanaa airport. ICRC Middle East spokesperson Hachem Osseiran said all ICRC personnel and the aircraft crew were safe and accounted for but declined to provide additional details.
The renewed violence followed the collapse of an ICRC-mediated prisoner exchange agreement between the Houthis and Yemen’s internationally recognized government, with both sides blaming each other. Yemen has experienced more than a decade of civil war after the Houthis seized the capital and forced the internationally recognized government to relocate to the south. Saudi Arabia led a military coalition that intervened in 2015 against the Houthis, and the conflict developed into one of the world’s largest humanitarian crises. Although fighting escalated again late last year after a United Arab Emirates-backed separatist movement advanced through southern Yemen, the 2022 Saudi-Houthi truce had largely remained intact despite wider regional tensions linked to the Israel-Gaza war and Houthi attacks on Red Sea shipping.
Separately, Iran’s Army spokesperson Brigadier General Mohammad Akrami-Nia warned that the United States would not be able to reopen the Strait of Hormuz through military pressure or hostile actions. Speaking at a public gathering, he said the strategic waterway would remain closed until Washington complied with the provisions of a memorandum of understanding signed last month to end hostilities following what Iran described as unprovoked American-Israeli aggression against the Islamic Republic beginning on February 28.
According to Akrami-Nia, Iran had agreed under the interim memorandum to permit toll-free maritime transit through the Strait of Hormuz for 60 days and established a designated maritime route for vessels. He accused the United States of attempting to escort shipping through what he described as an illegal passage instead of the agreed route, prompting Iran to close the corridor. He said the United States had initially accepted Iran’s arrangements but later attempted to establish a new route “through deception.”
Akrami-Nia said Iran’s armed forces had declared that any movement through the Strait of Hormuz outside the terms of the memorandum would receive what he called a decisive response from the Islamic Republic. He added that the only path to reopening the waterway was for the United States to respect Iran’s rights and comply with the agreement. He also praised public support for Iran’s armed forces during recent hostilities, saying it demonstrated national unity, and cited large funeral ceremonies for Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Khamenei as evidence of public backing for the Islamic Republic.
