Yemen will not cease military operations against Saudi Arabia until Riyadh completely lifts its long-standing siege, says a senior official.
Mohammed al-Bukhaiti, a senior member of the Ansarullah political bureau, firmly rejected Saudi attempts to deflect blame for recent airspace violations and the bombing of the Sana’a International Airport.
Recent escalation has seen Yemeni forces strike critical Saudi oil facilities and down hostile drones violating Yemen’s airspace.
Riyadh has sought to attribute the presence of a hostile drone over Yemeni territory to inside opponents, attempting to frame the aggression as an internal Yemeni conflict.
“Any violation of Yemen’s sovereignty will not exempt Saudi Arabia from punishment,” Bukhaiti said. “Our weapons will never be pointed at internal opponents; they are reserved exclusively for the Saudi enemy.”
Yemen’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs condemned the Saudi violation of Yemeni airspace as an unacceptable act of aggression that will be met with a decisive response guaranteed by all international regulations.
The ministry said in a statement that the successful downing of Saudi drones within Yemen’s borders serves as undeniable proof of Riyadh’s ongoing violations as well as Yemen’s sovereign right to reciprocate.
Addressing international critics who condemn Yemen’s defense of its airspace, the ministry said, “Open your own airspace to Saudi aviation, let it roam freely, and allow it to target whomever it wishes.”
The ministry also underscored the “unity of arenas” with the Axis of Resistance as a religious, strategic principle.
Furthermore, it strongly condemned recent Saudi threats against neighboring Iraq, warning Riyadh that its policy of antagonizing its Arab and Islamic neighbors will ultimately result in catastrophic losses for the kingdom.
The diplomatic and military warnings follow a series of precision strikes by the Yemeni Armed Forces targeting sensitive crude oil supply and transport sites linking eastern Saudi Arabia to the critical Red Sea export hub of Yanbu.
Military spokesman Brigadier General Yahya Saree said the operations were a direct response to Saudi drone incursions.
The strikes on the Yanbu corridor are particularly significant.
Following the outbreak of the US-Israeli war of aggression against Iran in February, and Iran’s subsequent enforcement of its sovereign rights in the Strait of Hormuz, Saudi Arabia has been forced to reroute its crude output to Yanbu via its east-west pipeline to bypass the disrupted waterway.
In response to the 12-year siege, Yemen recently announced a comprehensive maritime blockade of Saudi oil industry in the Red Sea, a legitimate measure that has sent shockwaves through global energy markets and placed immense economic pressure on Riyadh.
Desperate to break the blockade, Saudi Arabia resumed airstrikes on Yemen’s vital port of Hodeidah, hypocritically claiming the attacks were necessary to “protect shipping” while continuing to strangle Yemen’s own lifelines.
This latest flare-up marks the most significant exchange of fire between Yemen and Saudi Arabia in years, effectively shattering the remnants of the 2022 UN-brokered truce.
