Saudi Jets Strike Sanaa Airport. Yemen Says Its Patience Has Run Out. The Iran-Houthi Axis Has a New Front.
On Monday July 13, 2026, Saudi warplanes struck the runways of Houthi-controlled Sanaa International Airport as an Iranian Mahan Air passenger jet approached Yemeni airspace. The plane was diverted safely to Hodeidah Airport. The runways were not. Video footage broadcast by the Houthi-controlled al-Masirah channel showed a missile striking the airport compound followed by a large explosion. Yemen's internationally recognised government immediately closed all airports in the country until further notice.
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| Smoke rises after an airstrike hit the Sanaa International Airport, as seen from Sanaa, Yemen, July 13, 2026. |
The Yemeni civil war's fragile de-escalation, which had been held since 2022, is now officially over.
What Triggered the Strike
The Presidential Leadership Council, Yemen's internationally recognised governing body led by Rashad al-Alimi and backed by Saudi Arabia, the UAE, and the United States, confirmed that Iran had requested permission to operate a Mahan Air flight from Tehran to Sanaa to return a Houthi delegation. The council denied the request. The Houthis insisted on receiving the Iranian flight outside the legal and sovereign frameworks governing civil aviation. The plane flew toward Sanaa anyway.
BREAKING: YEMEN GOVERNMENT JUST DECLARED WAR ON SANA’A SAYING THEIR “PATIENCE HAS RUN OUT” OVER THE IRANIAN AIRCRAFT ON ROUTE TO SANA’A TO BREAK THE SIEGE pic.twitter.com/j9EBsgdcla
— Sulaiman Ahmed (@ShaykhSulaiman) July 13, 2026
In a video statement released shortly before the strikes, Yemeni Armed Forces spokesman Al-Aqili warned directly against infiltrating Yemeni airspace with Iranian aircraft: "At this moment, we say that our patience has run out. Accordingly, we will respond appropriately to this treacherous and brutal act, and we will confront and deal with the hostile aircraft violating Yemeni airspace and sovereignty by all available means." The strikes followed within minutes. The Iranian plane diverted to Hodeidah, where it landed without incident. Iran and its allies hailed the Hodeidah landing as a symbolic victory over the Saudi-led blockade.
The Houthi Response
The Houthis did not absorb the strike quietly. Houthi military spokesman Yahya Saree declared on Telegram that the Saudi attack had ended the phase of de-escalation and warned it must bear the consequences. Senior Houthi official Hazem al-Assad went further: "The Saudi regime will discover that it has dug its own grave." A separate statement warned the response would be "decisive." The UN's special envoy for Yemen, Hans Grundberg, said his office was monitoring developments with concern and called on all parties to preserve the relative calm Yemen had experienced since 2022. That calm is now gone.