Updated
Updated · The Associated Press · Jul 13
Houthis Hit Abha Airport With Missiles and Drones as Saudi Strike Blocks 1 Iranian Plane
Updated
Updated · The Associated Press · Jul 13

Houthis Hit Abha Airport With Missiles and Drones as Saudi Strike Blocks 1 Iranian Plane

3 articles · Updated · The Associated Press · Jul 13

Summary

  • Abha International Airport came under Houthi missile and drone attack Monday, with no casualties reported, hours after strikes on Sanaa airport sharply escalated tensions with Saudi Arabia.
  • Sanaa's runway was hit to stop an Iranian plane carrying a Houthi delegation from returning from Tehran, according to Yemen's government and defense minister; the Houthis said the aircraft was diverted to Hodeida.
  • Yahya Saree warned airlines against using Saudi airspace until what he called the blockade on Sanaa airport is lifted, while Saudi coalition spokesman Turki al-Malki said air defenses intercepted ballistic missiles aimed at the south.
  • The U.N. Security Council held an emergency meeting as envoy Hans Grundberg and political affairs chief Khaled Khiari warned the flare-up could end Yemen's relative calm since the 2022 truce and trigger a wider regional escalation.

Insights

Was the airport strike a defense against weapon smuggling or a deliberate ploy by hardliners to sabotage peace talks?
As Yemen's truce shatters, is the world's most vital shipping lane, the Bab Al-Mandeb Strait, about to close?
Beyond this airstrike, how is Iran using the Houthis to reshape its strategic dominance across the Middle East?