Credit: FAYEZ NURELDINE/AFP via Getty Images

(CNN)-- The official spokesman for the Saudi-led Coalition to Support Legitimacy in Yemen, Major General Turki Al-Maliki, responded on Saturday to Houthi statements and threats against Saudi Arabia, according to the Saudi Press Agency (SPA).

Major General Turki Al-Maliki said that "the Houthi militia’s statements on Friday against the Kingdom are nothing but an attempt to divert attention from its grave violations against the brotherly Yemeni people, and through them it seeks to export economic problems and the suffering of the Yemeni people it caused, and to cover up the tribal and social rejection it faces to Yemen’s regional surroundings and neighboring countries," according to SPA.

Major General Turki Al-Maliki explained that "such claims are an extension of the escalation and hostile behavior of the Houthi militia and its attempts to undermine regional and international security. The Kingdom, the Coalition, and international partners have taken initiatives and efforts to alleviate the suffering of the Yemeni people as a result of the Houthi militia’s coup, and have worked to resolve the Yemeni crisis through a roadmap that was approved by the Yemeni government but rejected by the Houthi militia. Moreover, it went further by rejecting permanent peace solutions and attacking maritime navigation lines and global trade in the southern Red Sea and Bab el-Mandeb Strait, thereby exposing the Yemeni people’s resources to targeting and comprehensive destruction at the ports of Hodeidah, Salif, and Ras Isa, Sanaa International Airport, and also including infrastructure elements of power stations, factories, and other economic resources of the Yemeni people," as stated in the statement.

Major General Turki Al-Maliki also affirmed that "the Coalition will respond and strike with all firmness and unprecedented force to confront any attempts to target the Kingdom, its citizens, and its national resources, or attempts to violate the sovereignty of the sisterly Republic of Yemen, in accordance with international humanitarian law and its customary rules."

The Saudi statement came after Houthi rebels claimed on Friday that they confronted a "formation of Saudi warplanes and thwarted its attempt to prevent a civilian Iranian plane from landing at Sanaa International Airport."

The Houthis threatened in a statement carried by their version of the Saba news agency that Saudi Arabia "any attempt to violate Yemen’s airspace or aggression targeting the country will be met with a comprehensive and direct response targeting its airports and vital interests on land and sea."