Houthis strike Saudi airport in retaliation for Sanaa airstrike, declaring end to truce

Yemen's Iran-backed Houthi rebels fired a missile at Abha International Airport in southern Saudi Arabia, declaring an end to an informal truce that had held for four years. The group said the strike was retaliation for a Saudi airstrike on Sanaa International Airport. The escalation threatens to extend regional tensions — already inflamed by armed conflict between the United States and Iran — into the Yemeni front, deepening security instability across the Middle East.

The Saudi-led coalition in Yemen said Monday it had intercepted all missiles the Houthi militia fired toward the southern region, posting the announcement on social media platform X. Houthi military spokesperson Yahya Sari said in a statement that the group had struck Abha International Airport in southern Saudi Arabia and formally declared the truce with Riyadh over. Abha is the capital of Asir Province, a mountainous region bordering Yemen that is a popular summer destination for Saudi nationals.

The Houthis said the attack was retaliation for the Saudi airstrike on Sanaa International Airport. Sari called the Saudi strike "a blatant act of aggression" and declared that "the de-escalation phase is over." He then warned airlines worldwide not to enter Saudi airspace.

It was the first time since an informal truce took effect in March 2022 that the Houthis had officially claimed a direct attack on Saudi Arabia. The group had struck major Saudi energy facilities before entering the truce, after which both sides refrained from direct armed confrontation.

The airstrike on Sanaa Airport was claimed by Yemen's internationally recognized government, backed by Saudi Arabia. Yemen's Defense Ministry said it struck the runway at Sanaa International Airport to prevent an Iranian aircraft from landing in violation of Yemeni sovereignty, adding that it would respond by all available means to any hostile aircraft entering Yemeni airspace.

Some foreign media reports said senior Houthi leaders were aboard the Iranian aircraft that attempted to land at Sanaa Airport, and that the plane ultimately diverted to Hodeidah Airport, which is under Houthi control.

The Yemeni government said the Houthis had detained an International Committee of the Red Cross aircraft at Sanaa Airport and were holding the pilot and co-pilot. ICRC Middle East spokesperson Hashem Osseiran said the safety of all staff and crew had been confirmed but offered no further details.

Tensions between the two sides have risen further after prisoner exchange negotiations between the Houthis and the Yemeni government, mediated by the ICRC, recently collapsed.

The renewed conflict is also expected to weigh on Saudi Arabia's security and energy exports. Riyadh had stayed on the sidelines of the war between Iran and the United States, routing crude oil exports through a pipeline from its eastern oil fields to the Red Sea coast and bypassing the Strait of Hormuz. Concerns are mounting, however, that a resumption of armed conflict with the Houthis — who repeatedly attacked commercial shipping in the Red Sea — would deal a significant blow to Saudi energy exports and regional maritime logistics.