The Yemeni military claimed responsibility for airstrikes that destroyed the runway at Sanaa International Airport in Yemen, an attack that Houthi rebels allege was perpetrated by Saudi Arabia. 

The military in a statement claimed that the strikes followed the Houthis blocking Yemeni national aircraft from landing at the airport and allowing Iranian aircraft to “violate Yemeni airspace.”

The strikes follow rising tensions earlier this month when the Houthis accused Saudi aircraft of violating their airspace to block their delegation to the funeral of Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. 

The Houthis accused the Saudis of conducting the Monday strikes in order to prevent the return of the Houthi delegation. The Houthi military spokesman Yahya Saree vowed in a statement Monday that “this aggression will not pass without response and punishment.”

Recent escalations threaten negotiations between the Houthis, the Yemeni national government, and Saudi Arabia that emerged from a 2022 UN-brokered ceasefire that held de facto force until recently.