Yemen’s Houthis fire missiles at Saudi Arabia

{"text":[[{"start":9.55,"text":"Yemen’s Houthi rebels fired ballistic missiles at Saudi Arabia hours after blaming it for an attack on Sana’a International Airport in a flare-up that threatens a four-year truce between the kingdom and the Iranian-backed group."}],[{"start":23.700000000000003,"text":"In a statement, the Houthis said they targeted Abha airport in southern Saudi Arabia, while warning all airlines against passing through the kingdom’s airspace."}],[{"start":33.1,"text":"The Saudi-led coalition, which backs the internationally recognised Yemeni government, said its air-defence systems engaged with a ballistic missile threat launched by the Houthis towards the kingdom’s southern region."}],[{"start":45.55,"text":"The confrontation threatens to reignite Yemen’s 11-year civil war and reopen another front in the Middle East as the fragile US-Iran ceasefire teeters."}],[{"start":55.25,"text":"Brigadier General Yahya Saree, the Houthis’ military spokesman, said earlier on Monday that the attack on Sana’a airport “ended the de-escalation phase” and warned that the “Saudi aggression will not go unanswered”."}],[{"start":69.85,"text":"Saudi Arabia, which intervened in Yemen’s war to fight the Houthis in 2015 after the rebels seized Sana’a and ousted the government, did not comment on the attacks. "}],[{"start":79.69999999999999,"text":"Yemen’s Saudi-backed armed forces said they had targeted the Sana’a airport runway to prevent an Iranian aircraft from landing."}],[{"start":87.74999999999999,"text":"The Houthi-run Almasirah television channel published footage that it said showed black smoke rising from the airport after the strikes."}],[{"start":null,"text":"

"}],[{"start":94.74999999999999,"text":"Tensions had been simmering in Yemen since May as the Houthi leadership ratcheted up its rhetoric against Saudi Arabia, analysts said."}],[{"start":103.29999999999998,"text":"But the latest flare-up appears to have been triggered after the Houthis opened Sana’a airport this month to allow an Iranian plane to fly rebel officials and wounded Yemenis back to the country. "}],[{"start":114.84999999999998,"text":"The Houthis accused Saudi Arabia of deploying fighter jets in an attempt to prevent the plane landing. They warned they would target the kingdom if it continued what the rebels described as “violations” of Yemeni airspace."}],[{"start":128.64999999999998,"text":"The aircraft landed and then flew a Houthi delegation to Tehran to attend the funeral of Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, Iran’s late supreme leader who was killed by air strikes when the US and Israel launched their war against the Islamic republic."}],[{"start":143.84999999999997,"text":"It was the first direct flight between Yemen and Iran since the Yemeni conflict erupted more than a decade ago, analysts said."}],[{"start":152.24999999999997,"text":"An Iranian plane flew the delegation back to Sana’a on Monday. But after the airport was attacked, the plane was forced to land in the Red Sea port of Hodeidah, Iran’s Fars news agency said."}],[{"start":null,"text":""}],[{"start":163.74999999999997,"text":"The Houthis are part of Iran’s so-called “axis of resistance” and have previously attacked Saudi infrastructure and severely disrupted shipping through the Red Sea."}],[{"start":172.89999999999998,"text":"But they have largely stayed out of the US-Israeli war against Iran, except for firing volleys of missiles and drones at Israel in March and early April. "}],[{"start":183.04999999999998,"text":"The Houthis and Saudi Arabia agreed to a truce in April 2022, and Riyadh has been seeking to de-escalate with Iran, which fired missiles and drones at the kingdom and other Gulf states to retaliate against US-Israeli attacks."}],[{"start":197.7,"text":"In May, Saudi Arabia and the Houthis agreed to a prisoner exchange."}],[{"start":202.79999999999998,"text":"But Mohammed Albasha, founder of the US-based risk advisory firm Basha Report, said tensions had increased as the Houthis felt they were not getting any dividend for showing restraint during the Iran war and agreeing to the prisoner swap with Saudi Arabia."}],[{"start":218.14999999999998,"text":"“There’s now a high probability of a resumption of the war between the Houthis and the Saudi-led coalition — it’s the end of the fragile ceasefire,” Albasha said. “The Houthis have been provoking the Saudis for years, and the Saudis were very patient, but this was a long time coming.”"}],[{"start":233.7,"text":"Riyadh’s concern was that Iranian flights to Sana’a could be used to ship weapons and technology to the Houthis, which have long received military support from Tehran, he added."}],[{"start":244.35,"text":"Rashad al-Alimi, who leads Yemen’s Saudi-backed ruling Presidential Leadership Council, said his government offered to return the Houthi delegation from Tehran aboard an aircraft leased by Yemenia Airways, but the offer was rejected. "}],[{"start":258.7,"text":"“Despite mediation efforts and goodwill aimed at containing the situation, the decision was made to proceed with receiving a new Iranian flight outside the legal and sovereign frameworks regulating civil aviation, in a move that reflects a deliberate disregard for state institutions,” he said in a statement carried by Yemen’s Saba state news agency. "}],[{"start":279.55,"text":"Yemen’s Civil Aviation and Meteorology Authority, controlled by the Saudi-backed Yemeni government based in Aden, ordered the closure of all airports to air traffic until further notice."}],[{"start":290.95,"text":"Cartography by Steven Bernard"}],[{"start":300.35,"text":""}]],"url":"https://audio.ftcn.net.cn/album/a_1783998508_3492.mp3"}