N12 reports, citing Iran's Fars news agency, that an Iranian aircraft landed at Al-Hudaydah International Airport shortly after Saudi Arabia conducted airstrikes on Sanaa. The report follows earlier incidents of Iranian planes attempting to land in Yemen amid the Saudi-led air blockade.
N12 reported Monday afternoon, citing Iran's Fars news agency, that an Iranian aircraft landed at Al-Hudaydah International Airport shortly after Saudi airstrikes on Sanaa. The report amounts to the first official confirmation of a landing at the Red Sea port city, following hours of conflicting reports about the plane's fate. The timing — after Saudi strikes on Sanaa's runways — suggests the aircraft was diverted or a separate flight was involved, as The Zioneer reported earlier in the thread.
The story unfolded rapidly Monday. At 12:56 Jerusalem, local eyewitnesses reported an unidentified aircraft, believed to be an Iranian Mahan Air plane, landing at Sanaa International Airport. By 14:03 Jerusalem, multiple sources reported that Saudi Arabia had struck the airport's runways in response. i24NEWS said the strike was triggered by the earlier Iranian landing. The Yemeni government confirmed at 14:03 that it had struck the runway to block an Iranian plane. Simultaneously, reports emerged that the Iranian flight had diverted to Hodeidah (Al-Hudaydah). Security analyst Yair Goldblatt reported at 15:17 Jerusalem that a Yemeni delegation arrived at Al-Hudaydah aboard an Iranian aircraft after being unable to land at Sanaa. The Fars report, cited by N12, now provides official confirmation of the landing at Al-Hudaydah, though it does not identify the passengers or the aircraft's origin.
As The Zioneer reported on Monday, this incident is part of a pattern of Iranian planes attempting to breach the Saudi-led air blockade on Yemen. Earlier Monday, Goldblatt reported that an Iranian executive jet had landed at Sanaa, breaking the siege for the second time that week. A regional monitoring channel claimed at 15:23 Jerusalem that a Saudi attempt to block an Iranian plane at Hodeidah had failed. The Houthi movement accused Saudi Arabia of striking Sanaa airport to prevent the Iranian landing, while the anti-Houthi Yemeni Defense Ministry warned civilians to evacuate the airport.
It remains unclear whether the aircraft that landed at Al-Hudaydah is the same Mahan Air plane that attempted to land at Sanaa, or a separate flight. The purpose of the flight and the identity of its passengers — whether diplomatic, military, or civilian — have not been independently verified. The Saudi-led coalition has not commented on the Al-Hudaydah landing.
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