Yemeni Minister of Information Moammar Al-Eryani said on Wednesday that the state will not tolerate any new violations, and will take all political, diplomatic, legal, and military measures guaranteed by the constitution and international law to prevent any attempt to undermine Yemen’s sovereignty or impose faits accomplis by force. Al-Eryani made his remarks to Asharq Al-Awsat following the Yemeni Ministry of Defense’s announcement on Monday that it had targeted the runway of Sanaa International Airport to prevent an Iranian aircraft from landing outside legal and sovereign procedures. Al-Eryani said the Yemeni government’s position had been clear since the beginning of the crisis. He noted that the government had exhausted all political, diplomatic, and legal avenues and had put forward initiatives aimed at maintaining civilian flights through Yemenia Airways in a manner that safeguarded citizens’ interests while respecting Yemen’s sovereignty. Al-Eryani stated that “the terrorist Houthi militia, with direct support from the Iranian regime, has rejected these initiatives and insisted on imposing a fait accompli outside the institutions of the state.” He told Asharq Al-Awsat that the Chairman of the Presidential Leadership Council (PLC), the Supreme Defense Council, the Cabinet, and the Ministry of Defense had all stressed that protecting Yemen’s sovereignty, airspace, and ports of entry is a constitutional duty that cannot be compromised. The minister reassured the Yemeni people, saying that the armed forces and security agencies are currently at the highest level of preparedness, in implementation of directives issued by the PLC Chairman, the National Defense Council, and Cabinet decisions. He stressed that they are fully capable of carrying out their constitutional duty to protect Yemen’s sovereignty and defend its airspace and land, sea, and air borders. Crisis Management Room Asked about Yemen’s options should the Houthis choose to escalate, Al-Eryani highlighted the role of a crisis management room through which state institutions are working in full coordination. He revealed that developments are being monitored around the clock and that necessary measures are being taken based on military, security, and political assessments. According to him, this ensures the protection of citizens and national interests and demonstrates that the state has the ability to deal decisively and responsibly with any developments. He also placed full responsibility for any escalation and its consequences on “the Houthi militia and the Iranian regime, which chose to reject all peaceful initiatives and continue violating international law and undermining peace opportunities.” Houthi Rejection of Government Initiatives Regarding the Iranian plane’s eventual landing at Hodeidah Airport, Al-Eryani stressed that the government’s success in this crisis should not be measured by where the aircraft landed, but rather by preventing Iran and the Houthis from achieving their objective of establishing Sanaa Airport as a permanent platform for Iranian flights outside state authority. He explained that the government handled the crisis from the outset with responsibility, exhausting all political, diplomatic, and legal means. It also proposed practical solutions to spare Yemen and the region further escalation, including operating civilian flights through Yemenia Airways and facilitating the transport of the Houthi delegation via the national carrier. However, he said, the militia rejected all such initiatives. “When the militia insisted on imposing a fait accompli, the state implemented what it had previously announced and prevented the Iranian aircraft from landing at Sanaa Airport, demonstrating that its warnings ... were an expression of a sovereign position stemming from the state’s responsibility to protect its airspace and ports,” Al-Eryani explained. He reiterated that preventing the aircraft from landing at Sanaa Airport was the most significant turning point in the crisis, because it thwarted attempts to establish the airport as a platform for regular Iranian flights and confirmed that the Yemeni government would not grant the Houthis sovereign powers they do not possess. Allowing the Plane to Land in Hodeidah Al-Eryani noted that “the decision to allow the aircraft to land at Hodeidah Airport was taken from a position of strength, after the state had demonstrated its readiness and ability to impose its will.” He stressed that this did not alter Yemen’s legal and sovereign position, which rejects the operation of any Iranian flights outside official frameworks. He argued that the crisis had established a new equation: Any future Iranian air movement toward Yemeni territory would not be viewed as a civilian flight but rather as an attempt to violate Yemeni sovereignty and impose a new reality. He stressed that the Yemeni state would deal with any similar attempt in line with the constitution and international law so as to protect Yemen’s sovereignty and prevent its territory and airports from being used to serve Iran’s regional project. On Monday, Al-Eryani announced that the Houthis had detained an International Committee of the Red Cross aircraft at Sanaa Airport, preventing it from departing, and had held the pilot and co-pilot hostage. In his remarks to Asharq Al-Awsat, he described this as “not an isolated incident, but part of a systematic pattern by the militia of violating international law and international humanitarian law.” “The militia has previously abducted dozens of UN employees and staff members of international agencies and humanitarian organizations from their workplaces and homes, detaining them arbitrarily. It has also targeted humanitarian institutions, confiscated their property, and used humanitarian workers as leverage for political blackmail, in blatant violation of all international norms and conventions.” Seizure of National Airline Aircraft Al-Eryani further revealed that the Houthis’ record includes “the seizure of four Yemenia Airways aircraft and the disruption of the national carrier’s operations, causing severe harm to citizens and to the civil aviation sector.” He expressed surprise that some international organizations continue to operate flights to Sanaa Airport despite the absence of security and legal guarantees and despite the militia’s ongoing detention of aircraft, individuals, and threats to civil aviation safety. The minister said this requires a serious review by the United Nations and international organizations of how they deal with such violations. He called for a firmer stance to ensure the protection of their personnel and aircraft and to prevent the militia from using humanitarian work as a cover for imposing a fait accompli or extorting the international community.
