Yemen’s Houthis targeted Saudi Arabia on July 13, hours after they accused the kingdom of attacking Sanaa airport – the biggest flare-up in years between the two sides that threatens to upend a frozen conflict.
The Saudi-backed Yemeni government claimed responsibility for the attack on the Houthi-held airport, saying it wanted to prevent an Iranian plane from landing.
It came after the government failed to convince a Houthi delegation that went to Tehran for the late Iranian supreme leader Ali Khamenei’s funeral to board a flight on domestic carrier Yemenia instead.
“Air defences dealt with a ballistic missile threat launched by the terrorist Houthi militia towards the southern region,” spokesman Turki al-Maliki of the Saudi-led coalition said in a social media post.
Earlier, Houthi military spokesman Yahya Saree accused Saudi Arabia of “ending the de-escalation phase” and warned that “this aggression will not go unanswered or unpunished”.
The latest escalation threatens to unravel a 2022 truce and comes at a time of heightened tensi,ons as the United States and Iran trade attacks impacting the Gulf and traffic in the Strait of Hormuz.
source: commonspace.eu with agencies
