Summary: Yemeni government forces targeted Sanaa airport runway to prevent an Iranian plane from landing, before the plane arrived at Hodeidah airport in its first landing there since 2015. Authorities announced the closure of the country's airports until further notice, amid warnings of intercepting any new breach of Yemeni airspace.

The official spokesman for the Legitimacy Support Alliance forces in Yemen, Major General Turki Al-Maliki, announced on Monday that air defenses intercepted ballistic missiles launched by Houthi rebels towards the southern region of Saudi Arabia.

Urgent: Air defenses dealt with a threat from ballistic missiles launched by the terrorist Houthi militia towards the southern region. — Official Spokesperson for the Coalition Forces (@CJFCSpox) July 13, 2026

The attempt by an Iranian plane to land in areas under Houthi control sparked a new confrontation in Yemeni skies on Monday, after government forces targeted Sanaa airport runway to prevent its arrival, before the plane headed to Hodeidah airport and landed there, in a development that prompted authorities to close all the country's airports to air traffic until further notice.

The crisis began with the Yemeni government's announcement of its rejection of what it described as an attempt by the Houthis and Iran to impose a fait accompli by violating Yemeni airspace, and its vow to prevent the plane heading to Sanaa from landing.

Local sources told Independent Arabia that sounds of shelling were heard around Sanaa International Airport, after the Ministry of Defense asked civilians to stay away from the airport, before the Yemeni armed forces announced targeting its runway "to prevent the Iranian plane from landing on Yemeni soil."

The armed forces said the Houthis prevented Yemeni national aviation from landing at Sanaa airport and insisted on allowing Iranian aviation to violate the country's territory, which prompted them to target the runway.

After targeting Sanaa airport runway, local sources reported that the Houthi government's Transport Minister oversaw preparations to receive the plane at Hodeidah airport, where it later landed, in the first landing of a plane on the airport's runway since 2015.

Witnesses confirmed to Independent Arabia that thick dust rose during the landing process, while sources suggested that the plane's heading towards Sanaa was a maneuver to pave the way for diverting its route to Hodeidah.

Following the developments, Yemeni Defense Minister Lieutenant General Taher Al-Aqili announced in a televised statement on behalf of the Yemeni armed forces that the army would respond to any violation of Yemeni airspace by Iran or the Houthis, affirming that the government had exhausted political and diplomatic means before reaching this stage.

Al-Aqili said the government tried "by all means" to convince Iran and the Houthis to return to the "right path," and made efforts to prevent the violation of Yemeni airspace and avoid dragging the country into a cycle of regional escalation, but those efforts did not yield results.

He added that "patience has run out," stressing that the armed forces would respond "in the appropriate manner" to any new violation and would not allow continued breaches of the country's sovereignty or use of its airspace for any military operations.

The Defense Minister affirmed that the armed forces would confront hostile aircraft that violate Yemeni airspace and deal with it using all available military means, within the framework of the state's right to protect its sovereignty and territorial integrity.

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For his part, Yemeni Presidential Leadership Council Chairman Rashad Al-Alimi said the armed forces targeted Sanaa airport runway as part of "defensive measures" to prevent the imposition of a fait accompli affecting the country's sovereignty, affirming that the forces were at the highest level of readiness.

Al-Alimi added, in a second statement issued Monday, that he directed giving priority to protecting civilian lives and public property and not expanding the scope of confrontation, after completing military, security, and political assessments.

He affirmed that the state "will not allow in the future any plane to violate Yemeni airspace," whether towards Sanaa airport or any other airport, stressing continued readiness to prevent repetition of these violations.

Al-Alimi held the Houthis and Iran responsible for the escalation, and directed the armed forces and security agencies to continue raising readiness levels, and called the Presidential Leadership Council for an emergency meeting to review developments and adopt necessary measures.

Al-Alimi had said, in an earlier statement, that the Houthis insisted on receiving an Iranian flight outside the legal and sovereign frameworks regulating civil aviation traffic, despite mediations and efforts to contain the situation.

He explained that the government expressed its readiness to resume civilian flights through Yemenia Airways and facilitate the transport of Houthi elements from Tehran to Sanaa on a plane chartered by the company, but the group rejected these initiatives.

Al-Alimi called on the international community and the Security Council to move from "the stage of condemnation to the stage of deterrence," and to enforce international resolutions and apply the sanctions regime.

In the latest measures, the Yemeni Civil Aviation Authority announced the closure of all the country's airports to air traffic until further notice.