The Houthi Defense Council has approved a new Iranian flight to Sana’a International Airport in the coming hours, alongside a military plan to launch coordinated missile and drone attacks against Saudi and Yemeni targets if the aircraft is intercepted or prevented from landing, intelligence sources told Sheba Intelligence.

According to the sources, the meeting was chaired by Mahdi al-Mashat, head of the Houthi Supreme Political Council, and held at a fortified facility in the capital, Sana’a. Senior officials from the group’s defense, general staff, intelligence, military operations, weapons manufacturing, missile and drone units attended the meeting.

Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps advisers and assistants were also present, the sources said, indicating that preparations for the flight and the potential military response involve direct operational coordination between Tehran and the Houthis.

The meeting reportedly authorized the deployment of missile launchers and drones on camouflaged vehicles and ordered the relevant units to raise their combat readiness.

Seven targets inside Saudi Arabia were approved as part of the group’s target bank, in addition to sites in areas controlled by Yemen’s internationally recognized government. These include facilities associated with the Arab Coalition and military camps in Marib, Hadramawt and other government-held areas.

Sheba Intelligence could not independently confirm the flight’s departure time or final route. However, the information indicates that the Houthis view the planned flight as a new test of the Yemeni government’s decision to block unauthorized Iranian aircraft, rather than as a routine civilian operation.

The plan appears designed to place the Houthis’ opponents before two options: allow the Iranian aircraft to reach Sana’a and establish a direct air corridor with Tehran, or risk triggering a broader regional military escalation by intercepting it.

Sheba Intelligence Background

The development follows an earlier confrontation involving an Iranian aircraft that was prevented from landing at Sana’a Airport before reportedly diverting to Hodeidah Airport. The incident prompted official Yemeni warnings against violations of the country’s air sovereignty.

Presidential Leadership Council Chairman Rashad al-Alimi subsequently declared that no further Iranian aircraft would be allowed to land in Yemen without government authorization. Yemen’s National Defense Council also approved military and security measures to protect the country’s airspace.

Sheba Intelligence previously reported that Iran and the Houthis’ determination to establish an air bridge is linked to growing pressure on maritime arms-smuggling networks. Several shipments have been intercepted, while routes used to transport missile and drone components into Houthi-controlled territory have faced increasing disruption.

The platform has also monitored heightened Houthi missile and drone readiness across Saada, Amran, Al-Jawf, Hajjah and Hodeidah, alongside deployments by government forces in Marib and Al-Jawf.

The latest intelligence suggests that the dispute over Iranian flights is shifting from a confrontation over air sovereignty into a potential trigger for renewed hostilities involving the Houthis, Saudi Arabia and Yemen’s internationally recognized government.