A large crowd gathered in Al-Sabin Square in the Yemeni capital Sanaa on Friday evening to thank the Islamic Republic of Iran for the humanitarian initiative that broke the 11-year siege on Sanaa International Airport. As an Iranian civilian aircraft landed at the airport carrying more than 200 sick, wounded, and stranded passengers, Yemeni air defense systems successfully intercepted Saudi coalition warplanes that attempted to prevent the landing.
At the rally, which was organized in support of the Yemeni armed forces and following the recent announcement that the siege had been broken, participants chanted their readiness to carry out the directives of Ansarullah leader Sayyed Abdulmalik al-Houthi and shouted slogans of solidarity with Gaza and Palestine.
Yemeni Deputy Foreign Minister Abdulwahid Abu Ras said in his speech at the rally:
"Today, two different scenes unfolded in Yemen's skies. The first was a civilian aircraft carrying the sick, wounded, humanitarian cases, and official delegations; the second was warplanes carrying bombs and missiles to kill Yemenis and destroy infrastructure."
Abu Ras stated that this event demonstrated Yemen's "steadfastness, resilience, military capability, and high combat readiness" and marked "the beginning of a new phase in reclaiming rights."
The rally took place immediately after a statement by Yemeni Armed Forces spokesman Brigadier General Yahya Saree at 05:20 on Friday morning. Saree had reported that Saudi coalition warplanes violated Yemeni airspace in an attempt to prevent the Iranian civilian aircraft from landing at Sanaa International Airport.
The crowd deeply appreciated Iran's humanitarian step to transfer the sick and wounded, while emphasis was placed on Islamic brotherhood and the axis of jihad and resistance.
