Newly released footage by the Houthi militia documenting an attack on Sanaa International Airport, which they control, has exposed the falsity of their claims regarding advanced air defense systems.
On Monday, the Yemeni government's Ministry of Defense issued a brief statement asserting that the Yemeni Armed Forces targeted the runway of Sanaa International Airport to prevent an Iranian aircraft from landing. The airstrike forced the Iranian plane, reportedly carrying a Houthi delegation en route to attend the funeral of Iranian Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei, to divert its landing to Hodeidah Airport.
Subsequently, the Houthi militia disseminated through their media channels footage of the airport attack, showing intense aerial bombardment of the runway. The militia framed the incident as a "blatant violation of international laws and conventions, particularly the Chicago Convention on Civil Aviation, which criminalizes targeting civilian and vital facilities."
Despite the Houthi attempt to leverage the incident to criticize the government and coalition forces and to threaten retaliation, their own acknowledgment and dissemination of the attack footage contradict their earlier statements. On July 3, when the Iranian aircraft landed to transport the delegation, the Houthis had issued a statement claiming that Saudi warplanes attempted to prevent the landing. Their spokesperson, Yahya Saree, had asserted that this attempt failed due to the militia's successful interception with air defense missiles, forcing the Saudi aircraft to withdraw.
However, the Houthi-released footage of the Sanaa Airport bombing directly refutes these prior claims and undermines their persistent assertions of possessing sophisticated air defense systems capable of countering advanced warplanes. This narrative has been consistently promoted by the militia throughout the conflict, especially following airstrikes by the United States, Britain, and Israel since late 2023.
The militia has routinely claimed that its air defense systems have successfully repelled enemy warplanes during these strikes. The current documentation of the Sanaa Airport attack, captured by their own media, offers compelling new evidence contradicting their long-standing claims of effective air defense capabilities.
