Yemeni military says it targeted Sanaa airport runway to block Iranian plane landing

SANAA, Yemen — Yemen's armed forces said on Monday that they struck the runway of Sanaa International Airport to prevent an Iranian aircraft from landing. In a statement, the military said the operation was carried out because Iran had continued to violate Yemeni airspace and territory. The statement said Iranian-backed Houthi militias had prevented domestic flights from landing at the capital's airport while continuing to allow Iranian aircraft to enter Yemeni airspace. The armed forces said using the airport under current conditions amounted to a violation of Yemeni sovereignty and warned that further measures would be taken to prevent similar attempts. Iranian media reported that a Mahan Air passenger plane that had departed from Tehran landed at Sanaa airport, controlled by the Houthis, on Monday morning and left about an hour later. No official statement was issued on the nature of the flight.