Houthis Vow Retaliation After Sanaa Airport Strike Escalates Yemen Tensions

The U.S.-designated terrorist Houthi movement controlling northern Yemen has condemned Saudi Arabia for allegedly targeting Sanaa International Airport with airstrikes, potentially opening a new front with Iran’s proxy force.

Although the Houthis agreed to a 2022 truce with the Saudi-led coalition opposing their rule, the group has repeatedly disrupted commercial shipping in the Red Sea since aligning with Hamas following its October 7, 2023, invasion of Israel. The latest military flare-up risks reigniting war between the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and the Houthis.

Houthi military spokesperson Yahya Saree labeled the strikes “blatant aggression” and declared an end to a period of de-escalation. He warned that Saudi Arabia would bear the consequences and that the attack would not go unanswered, specifically threatening to strike King Khalid Airport in Riyadh. Iran’s Press TV reported on its X account that Tehran condemns the Saudi attack on Sanaa airport as a breach of international law and Yemeni sovereignty.

Smoke rises following an airstrike at Sanaa International Airport, in Sanaa, Yemen, July 13, 2026, in this screengrab taken from a video. (Al Masirah Handout via Reuters)

The official slogan of the Houthi movement (Ansar Allah) remains: “God is great, Death to America, Death to Israel, Curse upon the Jews, Victory to Islam.”

Earlier Monday, Yemen’s defense ministry stated the runway at Sanaa International Airport was targeted to prevent an Iranian plane from landing. An armed forces spokesman later confirmed the aircraft had landed at Houthi-controlled Hodeidah airport instead.

Salman Al-Ansari, a prominent Saudi geopolitical analyst, told Fox News Digital that the Iranian-backed Houthi militia is in a desperate position, attempting to demonstrate its utility to its Iranian patrons amid the ongoing U.S.-Iran confrontation.

Yemen’s Iran-backed armed Houthi group has warned they will move to shutter the Bab Al-Mandeb Strait through missile-drone attacks if Gulf nations join the US-Israel war on Iran. (Mohammed Hamoud/Getty Images)

Al-Ansari emphasized that the action was taken by Yemen’s legitimate government in response to violations of its airspace and sovereignty, not by Saudi Arabia or the coalition. He stated Yemeni forces struck the runway after the terrorist Houthi militia defied international law by allowing unauthorized Iranian flights into Yemen, despite measures intended to prevent weapons and explosives smuggling.

According to Al-Ansari, the Houthis know these flights could land normally if they followed the agreed-upon route through a Jordanian airport for inspection. He noted the Houthis are currently at one of their weakest points, particularly after Yemen’s legitimate government consolidated effective authority over 80% of the country’s territory—a marked departure from the past when the government was fragmented between rival camps.

A Houthi rebel fighter fires in the air during a gathering aimed at mobilizing more fighters for their movement, in Sanaa, Yemen, Thursday, Aug. 1, 2019. The conflict in Yemen began with the 2014 takeover of Sanaa by the Houthis, who drove out the internationally-recognized government. Months later, in March 2015, a Saudi-led coalition launched its air campaign to prevent the rebels from overrunning the country’s south. (AP Photo/Hani Mohammed)

Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Israel, Lebanon, and other Sunni Gulf countries have expressed concerns about the Iranian regime’s plan to establish a so-called “Shiite crescent” stretching from Iran to Lebanon, incorporating terrorist proxies such as the Houthis and Hezbollah.

Al-Nsari added that by confronting the Houthis, Yemen’s legitimate government is not only defending its sovereignty but helping safeguard the region and the wider world from Iran’s network of terrorist proxies.

Nadwa Al-Dawsari, a Yemen expert and associate fellow at the Middle East Institute, told Fox News Digital that the Houthis’ warning that the strike on Sanaa airport “will not go unanswered” should be taken seriously, though the incident’s significance extends well beyond the prospect of retaliation.

She explained the dispute was never truly about civilian aviation or simply returning a Houthi delegation from Tehran. The Yemeni government had agreed to facilitate the delegation’s return aboard a Yemenia aircraft; the core issue was the Iranian aircraft itself.

Houthi terrorists walk over British and U.S. flags at a rally in support of Palestinians in the Gaza Strip, and the recent Houthi strikes on shipping in the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden on Feb. 4, 2024, on the outskirts of Sana’a, Yemen. (Mohammed Hamoud/Getty Images)

Al-Dawsari noted that by proceeding with the Mahan Air flight despite Yemeni objections and ensuring it reached Houthi-controlled territory, Iran and the Houthis were sending a political message: Tehran intends to normalize direct, public ties with Houthi-controlled Yemen and is willing to challenge the access restrictions governing the country since 2015.

The U.S. government has sanctioned Mahan Air for its role in supplying weapons and technology to terrorist groups such as Hezbollah.

Al-Dawsari observed a pattern in which Iran and its proxies create facts on the ground, betting that regional and international actors lack the appetite for escalation and will eventually adjust—a dynamic also seen in the Strait of Hormuz.

Pro-Iran protesters brandish billboards depicting the Iranian Supreme Leader Ali Hosseini Khamenei, flags of Yemen and Iran, weapons, and chant slogans as they take part in a rally held to condemn the US-Israel aerial attacks on Iran and killing the Iranian supreme leader and several military officials on March 1, 2026, in Sana’a, Yemen. (Mohammed Hamoud/Getty Images)

She added that the episode highlights the Houthis’ growing importance within Iran’s regional network. 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 partners, particularly in the Red Sea and the Horn of Africa.

According to Reuters, the Saudi government’s communication office did not immediately respond to the accusations.

Muhammad Al-Farah, a member of the Houthi Political Bureau, wrote on Telegram, according to the Middle East Media Research Institute (MEMRI), that the alleged Saudi attack will lead to the Bab al-Mandab Strait joining the Strait of Hormuz in terms of disruption and possible closure. He predicted the price of a barrel of oil would rise to $200 and claimed the attacks give the Houthis a reason to “strike back and liberate Yemen from occupation.”

Fox News Digital has submitted press queries to the State Department.

Reuters contributed to this report.

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