Conflict Over Iranian Planes Imperils Yemen’s Fragile Peace
The Iran-backed Houthi rebels in Yemen accused Saudi Arabia of striking an airport in the Yemeni capital, Sana. The escalation came after a dispute over an Iranian plane that carried Houthi officials to Tehran.
Shuaib Almosawa reported from Sana, Yemen, and Vivian Nereim from Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.
A four-year truce between Saudi Arabia and the Iran-backed Houthi rebels in Yemen was in peril on Monday as each party accused the other of launching an attack.
The escalating tensions threatened to open a new front in the Middle East, where the U.S.-Israel war with Iran has spilled across the region over the past few months but has largely bypassed Yemen.
The Houthis accused Saudi Arabia of bombing Yemen’s main international airport on Monday. That attack appeared to be an attempt to prevent an Iranian plane from landing in the Houthi-controlled capital of Yemen, Sana. The Saudi government did not comment on the Houthis’ claims.
After the bombing, the Houthis fired ballistic missiles toward Saudi Arabia, a Saudi military coalition said. The coalition statement said that Saudi air defenses had “dealt with” that threat.
