Leading Houthi threatens ‘siege’ on Saudi Arabia following attack on Sanaa airport

What happened

Al Jazeera reports that Mohammed al-Bukhaiti, a senior Houthi official, has threatened a ‘siege’ on Saudi Arabia in response to an attack on Sanaa International Airport earlier this week. The Houthis blamed Saudi Arabia for the strike that targeted the airport runway as an Iranian plane carrying a Houthi delegation approached. However, Yemen’s internationally recognised government claims responsibility for the attack, saying it aimed to prevent the Iranian plane from landing in Houthi-controlled Sanaa.

Outside Brief is treating this as a source-led account. Any disputed responsibility, casualty figure, battlefield claim or single-source assertion should be treated as unconfirmed/hearsay unless confirmed by another reliable source or a named official. Al-Bukhaiti said that Saudi Arabia’s actions legitimize retaliatory strikes on Saudi airports and the imposition of a siege against the kingdom, mirroring measures imposed on Yemen. Houthi spokesperson Yahya Saree described the airport attack as ending a ‘de-escalation phase’ in Yemen’s ongoing war, which had seen relative calm since a truce four years ago. The threat follows renewed clashes between Houthi and government forces in Hodeidah earlier this month.

Following the airport strike, the Houthis fired ballistic missiles at Abha International Airport in southern Saudi Arabia, which the Saudi-led coalition reportedly intercepted. The Houthis have vowed to maintain flights between Sanaa and Tehran despite tensions, underscoring the strategic importance of the airlift since the Iranian delegation’s recent visit. This Iranian flight, the first publicised landing in Sanaa for over a decade, has also been described by the Yemeni government as a cover for transferring military-related personnel and equipment linked to Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps.

Known from the source

• A ballistic missile attack targeted Sanaa International Airport runway as an Iranian plane approached; the airport was damaged.
• The Yemeni government claims responsibility for the airport attack to prevent an Iranian plane landing.
• The Houthis blame Saudi Arabia for the airport attack and have retaliated by firing missiles at Abha International Airport.
• Saudi-led coalition claims interception of Houthi missiles launched at Abha airport.
• A Houthi political bureau member, Mohammed al-Bukhaiti, threatened a siege on Saudi Arabia in response.

What remains unclear

Concerns are rising over the potential disruption of shipping through the Bab al-Mandeb Strait, controlled in part by the Houthis, a strategic chokepoint at the southern entrance to the Red Sea. Al-Bukhaiti affirmed that all options, including leveraging control over Bab al-Mandeb, remain on the table to respond to actions by nations hostile to Yemen, although he claimed the Houthis would avoid harming neutral parties. Previous Houthi attacks have severely affected shipping in the Red Sea, killing sailors and sinking vessels, and driving retaliatory strikes by the US, Israel, and the UK—though these attacks ceased following the October 2025 Gaza ceasefire.

What remains unclear: Confirm whether the central claim is corroborated; until then treat it as unconfirmed/hearsay. Independent verification of which party conducted the attack on Sanaa International Airport runway. Casualty figures related to the missile attacks on Abha International Airport, if any. Details on the Iranian flight’s cargo and personnel to corroborate UN claims linking it to IRGC.

Evidence note

This story contains report-led claims. The article keeps those claims attributed and treats them as unconfirmed/hearsay unless independently corroborated.

Original source: Al Jazeera Yemen. Open the source.