WANA (Jul 13) – Saudi warplanes launched multiple airstrikes against Sana’a International Airport on Monday, according to reports.

 

The bombardment, which initial reports indicate occurred in several successive waves, directly follows a high-stakes challenge to the decade-and-a-half-long aerial blockade of Yemen.

 

While official details regarding infrastructure damage or casualties have not yet been released, the timing of the strikes points to a sharp escalation over recent maritime and airspace friction.

 

According to eyewitnesses in the capital, the strikes were preceded by the arrival of a commercial passenger aircraft that landed at Sana’a International Airport at 9:00 AM local time on Monday and departed an hour later.

 

Local observers have identified the vessel as belonging to Iran’s Mahan Air, though Yemeni officials have not formally confirmed the carrier’s identity.

 

This marks the second successful flight to breach the 15-year Saudi-enforced airspace restrictions in just two weeks. Following the landing, senior Ansar Allah official Hezam al-Asad celebrated the event on social media, stating: “The plane landed safely, the delegation arrived, and the blockade was forcefully broken.”

 

On July 3, another Iranian aircraft managed to touch down in Sana’a despite interdiction attempts by Saudi fighter jets—an event Yemeni authorities triumphantly declared as the definitive end of the blockade.

 

Following that initial breach, Yahya Saree, the spokesperson for the Yemeni Armed Forces, explicitly warned that the aerial siege was over and that international flights to Sana’a would steadily multiply.