SANA’A/RIYADH: Saudi Arabia has opened a new front in the Iran war after bombing Sana’a airport in Yemen.
The strike on Monday damaged the runway and prevented an Iranian airliner from landing in the Yemeni capital, which is controlled by the Houthis, a pro-Tehran proxy militia.
The airport bombing was claimed by the internationally recognised Yemeni government, which is heavily backed by Riyadh.
However, the Yemeni administration lacks a functioning air force and a Houthi spokesman accused Saudi Arabia of conducting the attack.
Two US officials told Axios that Donald Trump gave Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman of Saudi Arabia his support for the military action.
The Houthis later fired missiles towards southern Saudi Arabia, which the kingdom said it intercepted.
The incident breaks a four-year truce between Riyadh and the Shia militia, which followed a decade-long war that killed approximately 377,000 people, according to United Nations estimates, most of which were caused by starvation and the collapse of infrastructure. There has been an informal but broadly stable ceasefire since March 2022, with the Houthis retaining control of the capital Sana’a and port city of Hodeidah, among other territory.
Tensions reignited on July 3 after an Iranian airliner landed at Sana’a, despite reported warnings from Saudi warplanes not to.
The Houthis claimed this was to fly a delegation to Tehran for the funeral of Ali Khamenei, the former supreme leader, as well as for medical evacuations. The following day the Yemeni government said that the “Iranian regime’s operation of a direct flight” to Sana’a had been a “flagrant violation” of Yemen’s sovereignty.
The potential re-establishment of an airbridge between the Islamic republic and its proxy in Yemen has prompted alarm in parts of the Middle East, including Israel, which has been repeatedly targeted by Houthi ballistic missiles.
Monday’s flight diverted and landed safely at Hodeidah airport, in the west of the country, on the Red Sea, according to Iran’s state broadcaster.
ലഘു വിവരണം
ഇറാൻ പിന്തുണയുള്ള ഹൂതികളുടെ നിയന്ത്രണത്തിലുള്ള സന വിമാനത്താവളത്തിൽ സൗദി അറേബ്യ നടത്തിയ ബോംബാക്രമണത്തോടെ മേഖലയിൽ പുതിയ യുദ്ധമുഖം തുറന്നു. ഇറാന്റെ വിമാനം സനയിൽ ഇറങ്ങുന്നത് തടയാൻ നടപ്പാക്കിയ ഈ ആക്രമണം സൗദിയും ഹൂതികളും തമ്മിൽ നാല് വർഷമായി നിലനിന്നിരുന്ന വെടിനിർത്തൽ കരാറിന് തിരിച്ചടിയായി. സംഭവത്തിന് പിന്നാലെ സൗദിക്കെതിരെ ഹൂതികൾ തിരിച്ചടി നടത്തുകയും മേഖലയിൽ സംഘർഷ സാധ്യത വീണ്ടും വർദ്ധിക്കുകയും ചെയ്തിട്ടുണ്ട്.
(With inputs from Yahoo News)
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