[13/07/2026 02:47]

ADEN-SABA

Defense Minister Lt. Gen. Taher al-Aqili said the Yemeni Armed Forces would confront any hostile aircraft violating Yemen's airspace and sovereignty using "all available means."

"We will confront and deal with hostile aircraft violating Yemen's airspace and sovereignty by all available means until we teach the enemy a lesson that will be remembered by present and future generations," al-Aqili said in a statement addressed to the Armed Forces and the Yemeni people.

He said the Yemeni government, in cooperation with the regional and international community, had made every legal and diplomatic effort to persuade the Iranian regime and the Houthi militia in Sanaa to refrain from violating Yemen's airspace with Iranian aircraft.

Al-Aqili said the latest violation was not the first, but differed from previous incidents because it openly defied international legitimacy.

He added that Yemen's patience had been exhausted and that the government would respond appropriately to the "treacherous act of aggression," stressing that the Armed Forces were prepared to defend the country's sovereignty by land, sea, and air regardless of the consequences.

The defense minister held the Iranian regime fully responsible for the legal and moral consequences of the airspace violation.

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