Yemen's Houthis announced Friday that they had "repelled" an attempt by Saudi warplanes to prevent an Iranian civilian aircraft from landing at Sanaa airport.
Yemeni Armed Forces (YAF) spokesman Brigadier General Yahya Saree said that Saudi warplanes violating Yemeni airspace were targeted with several air-defense missiles, forcing them to withdraw.
Saree stressed that the Iranian civilian aircraft was carrying more than 200 Yemeni citizens who had been stranded in Iran, including many who were sick or wounded.
“We warn the criminal Saudi enemy against repeating any attempt to violate our airspace or any aggression targeting our country. Such actions will be met with a comprehensive response targeting its airports and vital interests on land and sea,” Saree said in a video statement.
The YAF spokesman further stressed that "our hand is on the trigger" to implement any directives issued by Ansarallah leader Abdul Malik al-Houthi "within the framework of breaking the Saudi-American siege on our people and expelling the occupiers."
Saree also praised Iran's role in "breaking the siege" on Yemen by operating flights to transport patients and stranded people and to alleviate humanitarian suffering in Yemen.
After landing in Sanaa, the Iranian plane safely returned to Tehran carrying an official delegation of the Republic of Yemen to participate in the funeral of slain Iranian supreme leader Ali Khamenei.
Since 2015, Saudi Arabia has imposed a blockade on Yemen's land, sea, and air ports, severely restricting vital commercial and humanitarian imports, including fuel and food.
The blockade triggered what the UN called one of the most severe humanitarian crises globally, leading millions towards famine and drastically damaging healthcare and water systems.
The Saudi siege on Yemen was partially lifted following April 2023 negotiations with the Ansarallah resistance movement, which leads the YAF and is closely allied with Iran.
The US and Israel also fought a war with Yemen following the start of what Ansarallah condemned as genocide of Palestinians in Gaza in 2023.
In response to the genocide, the YAF imposed a blockade on Israeli-linked ships passing through the Bab al-Mandab Strait along the Yemeni coast of the Red Sea, eventually prompting the US and European navies to flee the Red Sea.