SANAA: Yemen’s Houthis threatened on Friday to hit Saudi airports and vital assets “should Riyadh violate its airspace”, as the rebels accused the kingdom of trying to stop an Iranian plane from landing.

The threats followed a time of relative calm between Saudi Arabia and the rebels, who did not target Gulf states during the Middle East war that saw Iran pummel its oil-rich neighbours.

“We warn the Saudis against repeating any attempt to violate our airspace or any aggression targeting our country,” military spokesman Yahya Saree said in a video statement.

“Such actions will be met with a comprehensive response targeting its airports and vital interests on land and sea.” Saree claimed the Houthis had thwarted an attempt by Saudi warplanes to infiltrate their airspace in a bid “to prevent an Iranian civilian aircraft carrying more than 200 stranded, wounded and sick citizens from landing at Sanaa International Airport”.

Houthi media earlier reported that the aircraft had headed back to Tehran carrying the Houthi delegation meant to attend the funeral of Iran’s former supreme leader Ayatollah Khamenei.

The rebel group said its fighters were ready for “any options” and that “their fingers are on the trigger to implement directives aimed at breaking the Saudi-American siege”.

The renewed threats came months after the Saudi-backed government and the Houthis had agreed to their largest prisoner exchange, confirmed in May, which includes seven Saudi nationals.

The Houthis have been at war with the Yemeni government since 2015 in a conflict that has killed hundreds of thousands of people and triggered a major humanitarian crisis in Yemen.

Published in Dawn, July 4th, 2026