WANA (Jul 11) – A senior member of Yemen’s Ansarallah political bureau has said civilian flights between Sana’a and Tehran will continue, even if doing so results in the shutdown of Saudi Arabia’s airports.

 

Hizam al-Assad, a member of Ansarallah’s political bureau, said the air route between Sana’a and Tehran is part of efforts to break Yemen’s blockade and will continue regardless of the consequences.

 

His remarks came after Yemen’s Saudi-backed government described the landing of a Mahan Air aircraft at Sana’a International Airport as a violation of the country’s sovereignty. In a statement, the Presidential Leadership Council, which is backed by Riyadh, called the flight a breach of international law and said it would take the necessary political and military measures to prevent similar incidents.

 

The council also urged Iran to stop what it described as interference in Yemen’s internal affairs and to respect the country’s sovereignty and territorial integrity.

 

Ansarallah, however, views the flight as a major step toward ending Yemen’s long-running air blockade. According to the group, an Iranian aircraft successfully landed at Sana’a airport on July 3 for the first time in around 15 years, despite attempts by Saudi forces to prevent the flight. Ansarallah described the landing as the breaking of the Saudi-imposed air blockade.

 

Earlier, Yahya Saree, spokesperson for Yemen’s armed forces, had also said that flights between Sana’a and Tehran would continue “regardless of any consequences” as part of efforts to break the blockade and ease the suffering of the Yemeni people.