Saudi Airstrikes Hit Iran-Backed Houthis in Yemen as Oil Prices Surge

Saudi Arabia carried out airstrikes on Sanaa International Airport on Monday, according to Iran-backed Houthi rebels who control Yemen's capital, in what the Houthis have called the end of a long-running "de-escalation phase" between the two sides. The strikes come as oil prices surge amid the broader US-Iran conflict roiling the region.

Video footage broadcast by the Houthi-controlled al-Masirah network appeared to show a missile striking a runway at Sanaa airport, followed by a loud explosion. Saudi Arabia did not immediately acknowledge carrying out the strikes, and its officials did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

A Dispute Over an Iranian Flight

Yemen's internationally recognized government, which is backed by Saudi Arabia and operates from the southern port city of Aden, said the strikes were carried out to prevent an Iranian aircraft from landing in Sanaa. Gen. Taher al-Aqili, the government's defense minister, said on social media that the airport runway was struck to stop a plane carrying a Houthi delegation that had traveled to Iran to attend the funeral of Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.

Rashad al-Alimi, who leads Yemen's ruling Presidential Leadership Council, said Iran had requested to operate a flight by Iranian carrier Mahan Air from Tehran to Sanaa to return the Houthi delegation. The council said it denied the request, and accused the Houthis of insisting on receiving the Iranian flight "outside the legal and sovereign frameworks governing civil aviation." According to a Yemeni armed forces spokesman, the aircraft ultimately landed safely at Hodeidah airport, a separate Houthi-controlled facility.

In the aftermath of the strikes, Yemen's government declared all airports in the country "closed until further notice, with immediate effect," and the Yemeni defense ministry ordered an evacuation of Sanaa airport and the surrounding area.

Houthis Vow Retaliation

Houthi military spokesman Brig. Gen. Yahya Saree accused Saudi Arabia of carrying out the strikes and said on Telegram that they marked an "end to the de-escalation phase," warning that "this aggression will not go unanswered or unpunished." In a separate statement, Houthi spokesman Mohamed Abdel Salam described the strikes as a "grave breach" of the 2022 ceasefire that had largely held since ending years of intense fighting between the Houthis and a Saudi-led coalition.

Hours after the strikes, Saudi Arabia came under a missile attack from Yemen's Houthis. The Saudi-led coalition against the Houthis said its air defenses "dealt with a threat from ballistic missiles" launched by the rebels toward the kingdom's south.

Fragile Truce Under Strain

Yemen's civil war began in 2014, when the Houthis seized Sanaa and much of northern Yemen, forcing the government into exile. A Saudi-led coalition, including the UAE, intervened the following year in an effort to restore the government to power. A UN-brokered truce that took effect in 2022 has largely held since, despite periodic escalations tied to the wider regional conflict, including Houthi attacks on Red Sea shipping and, more recently, the US-Iran war.

Hans Grundberg, the UN's special envoy for Yemen, said his office was monitoring the developments and urged both sides to "refrain from any actions that would risk a new cycle of violence in Yemen." Monday's strikes mark the first major escalation between the Houthis and Saudi Arabia specifically since the 2022 ceasefire took hold.

Oil Markets React

The renewed hostilities in Yemen add another flashpoint to an already volatile oil market. Brent crude has surged more than 4% amid the broader escalation between the US and Iran over the Strait of Hormuz, a critical waterway through which a significant share of the world's seaborne crude oil and liquefied natural gas passes daily. Analysts have warned that any spillover from the Yemen conflict into Saudi energy infrastructure or Red Sea shipping lanes could add further upward pressure on prices, layering onto the disruption already caused by the Hormuz standoff.