Yemen/ Anadolu

- Member of the Presidential Leadership Council Othman Mujalli: It is time for a decisive action and restoring state institutions from the Houthis

- Member of the Presidential Leadership Council Abdul Rahman Al-Mahrami: The muzzles of our rifles and the might of our heroes are in full readiness and preparedness for a decisive battle that ends the Houthis' recklessness

- Houthi Defense Minister Mohammed al-Atifi: Our options are open and we have high readiness in all branches and formations of the forces

- The group mobilized thousands of its supporters in Sanaa and several provinces and spoke of a war with all elements

Escalation continued on Friday between the Yemeni government and the Houthi group over the past hours, amid sharp mutual messages regarding the future of the crisis between the two sides.

While the Presidential Leadership Council stressed that "it is time for decisive action to restore state institutions from the Houthi group," the latter mobilized thousands of its supporters in demonstrations in which it declared mobilization, and also threatened open options, and announced that readiness had been raised days ago.

**Fateful confrontation

In this context, member of the Presidential Leadership Council Othman Mujalli said on Friday that "it is time for decisive action and restoring state institutions from the Houthis."

Mujalli added, in a statement published by the official Saba news agency: "The price of seeking peace with the Houthis was more costly than the price of confronting them in the language they understand."

He considered that "when the matter is fateful and existential, confrontation becomes a personal duty for everyone."

Mujalli called on all partners of the homeland to "raise readiness, close ranks, end all cases of division, fragmentation, and minor conflicts, and fulfill the duty in a sacred mission to restore the state of all Yemenis."

**Readiness for a decisive battle

In turn, member of the Presidential Leadership Council, commander of the Giants Brigades forces, Abdul Rahman Al-Mahrami, said in a message addressed to Yemenis in areas under Houthi control: "We have striven with all our might to alleviate the burden of human suffering upon you at various junctures, and we have previously made concessions to facilitate your movement and travel via Sanaa airport, prioritizing your humanitarian interest, and we will continue."

Al-Mahrami added, via his account on the American company "X" platform on Friday evening, that the Houthi group "did not meet our flexibility with any eagerness, and proves at every station that it is a tool that has nothing to do with the benefits and interests of the people," according to him.

He went on to say that "our hands will always be extended for a just, honorable, and guaranteed peace that addresses all political issues, foremost of which is the issue of our southern people; otherwise, the muzzles of our rifles and the might of our brave heroes are in full readiness and preparedness for a decisive battle that ends the recklessness of the terrorist Houthi militias, and no blackmail will deter us from performing our sacred duty to protect our country and our people," as he described.

**A complete war

In contrast, the capital Sanaa and several provinces under Houthi control witnessed on Friday demonstrations in which thousands participated, called by the group's leader Abdulmalik al-Houthi, under the slogan "Friday of warning and mobilization."

The Houthi group said in a statement at the conclusion of these demonstrations published by the Saba news agency in its affiliated version that "persistence on the blockade will be dealt with as a full-fledged war."

The statement added: "All of this is just a warning; the real demand of the Yemeni people is punishment in kind: blockade for blockade, airport for airport, tooth for tooth, eye for eye."

The statement called on the group's forces "to raise the ceiling of response," and said that "the Yemeni people are at the highest levels of readiness for everything the battle requires in terms of supporting the fronts and sacrifices."

**Open options

For his part, the Defense Minister in the Houthi government (internationally unrecognized) Mohammed al-Atifi said that their forces are ready in all their classifications and formations to implement any directives issued by the group's leader Abdulmalik al-Houthi "if the blockade on the Yemeni people continues."

He added: "Our options are open and we have high readiness in all branches and formations of the armed forces, and the level of readiness has been raised in implementation of the leadership's directives in the past days."

He continued: "The leadership of the Ministry of Defense, the General Staff, and the armed forces have become fully prepared to implement any directives related to the equation of blockade for blockade, airports for airports, and ports for ports."

**Escalation of the crisis

On Monday, the spokesman for the Coalition to Support Legitimacy in Yemen, Turki al-Maliki, announced that "air defenses dealt with a threat from ballistic missiles launched by the terrorist Houthi militia towards the southern region," without providing further details.

This represents the first Houthi attack on Saudi Arabia since the start of the truce in Yemen in 2022, according to Anadolu correspondent monitoring.

The attack came hours after the Yemeni Defense Ministry announced targeting the runway of Sanaa International Airport to prevent an Iranian plane from landing, while the Houthi group considered that this development means the "end of de-escalation" in place in the country for years, and threatened that the targeting "will not pass without response and punishment."

The Yemeni authorities had previously condemned, on July 3, 2026, Iran sending a plane belonging to "Mahan Air" to Sanaa, and said that the aim was to transport a Houthi delegation from Sanaa to Tehran.

This is the first announced Iranian flight to Sanaa airport in about 10 years, according to Yemeni media.