Yemen's Houthis launched missiles at Abha airport in southwestern Saudi Arabia on Monday in retaliation for air strikes on Sanaa airport that they blamed on the kingdom.
The Saudi‑led coalition said its air defences dealt with the missiles and no casualties were reported.
The Houthis, who control north‑western Yemen and receive backing from Iran, earlier accused Saudi Arabia of blatant aggression and said it had struck the runway of Sanaa's airport.
The Yemeni government claimed the strike, stating it aimed to prevent an Iranian plane from landing.
The incident is the most significant escalation in a largely dormant conflict between the Houthis and Saudi Arabia since an informal truce took effect four years ago.
Yemen has been devastated by a civil war that began in 2014 when the Houthis ousted the government from Sanaa, followed by a 2015 intervention by the Saudi‑led coalition seeking to restore the government’s rule.
More than 150,000 people have been killed in the fighting, creating one of the world’s worst humanitarian crises with over 22 million people in need of aid, according to the UN.
Footage on social media showed plumes of smoke rising above Sanaa’s rooftops after the strikes at the city’s international airport.
Houthi media claimed the departure and landing runways were targeted.
The Yemeni defence ministry said the Houthi militias, backed by the Iranian regime, prevented Yemeni national aircraft from landing at the airport and insisted on allowing an Iranian plane to violate Yemeni territory, leading to the runway being targeted.
The Iranian plane was diverted and later landed in the Red Sea city of Hudaydah, about 150km southwest of Sanaa, according to the Houthis.
For more than a decade, aircraft entering Yemeni airspace have required clearance from the Saudi‑led coalition, which claims to act at the government’s request.
Houthi military spokesperson Yahya Saree accused Saudi Arabia of being behind the Sanaa strikes, saying the conflict’s de‑escalation phase has ended and that the attacks would not go unanswered or unpunished.
Saudi authorities did not comment on the strikes before Saree announced Monday evening that the Houthis had launched a number of ballistic missiles and drones at Abha International Airport in response to this criminal aggression.
He also warned airlines against flying through Saudi airspace until the blockade on Sanaa International Airport is lifted.
The Saudi‑led coalition spokesperson later wrote on X that air defences have dealt with ballistic missile threats launched by the Houthi militia towards the Southern Region.
At an emergency Security Council meeting in New York, UN Assistant Secretary General Khaled Khiari expressed concern about the strikes, calling for constructive engagement under UN auspices.
The UK’s UN representative condemned the Houthi attacks on Saudi Arabia as reckless and threatening regional security.
Iran’s foreign ministry condemned the attack on Sanaa’s airport, describing it as a clear violation of international law.
