As war looms, Yemen's airports and seaports could be a target after the Houthi group, which controls Sanaa and most northern governorates, launched what it called a plan to lift a suffocating blockade on Sanaa airport, other Yemeni airports, ports and other entry points.
The crisis began in early July when an Iranian aircraft landed unexpectedly at Sanaa airport and transported a Houthi delegation to Tehran to attend the funeral of the late Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei.
Days later, the government announced that it had targeted the runway at Sanaa airport attempting to prevent the Iranian aircraft from landing again after detecting an attempt to enter Yemeni airspace on a second flight to return the Houthi delegation. The Houthis later said the aircraft had successfully landed in Hodeidah.
Informed sources told The New Arab that the sudden eruption of tensions, which appears to be unfolding according to a pre-arranged timeline, sends a clear message outlining other undeclared objectives.
Sources do not rule out Saudi Arabia and its alternative oil export corridor through Yanbu on the Red Sea as one of the primary targets.
The sources suggest that ports may become the next arena of conflict after the Saudi oil pipeline project to the Arabian Sea was recently revived.
Several measures related to the project have included the reactivation of Yemeni ports along the pipeline route in Hadramut, Socotra and Al-Mahra.
Before the latest developments erupted in early July, the Ministry of Transport in Aden formed a committee to reactivate Qana port in Shabwa, southeastern Yemen. It is Yemen's most strategically important port on the Arabian Sea and has a direct connection to the international conflict over shipping lanes and global trade routes.
Alongside the strategic Balhaf liquefied natural gas export terminal, the port had been under the control of forces aligned with the UAE, which withdrew from Yemen earlier this year.
A government committee has begun procedures to approve the Qana port project in Shabwa governorate, with the stated aim of strengthening the role of the ports sector in supporting the national economy and increasing public revenues.
However, informed sources say there is a plan to link it with another project to expand Mukalla port to increase its operational capacity and accommodate expected growth in trade.
Sources within the Ministry of Transport told TNA that the ministry is focused on developing and expanding economic facilities and broadening commercial activity hubs.
They note that strategic port projects form the foundation of this approach, aimed at improving the efficiency of the maritime transport sector and strengthening the position of Yemeni ports as effective economic gateways.
In April 2026, the internationally recognised Yemeni government resumed work on the construction of Qarma Port in Socotra Governorate and Brom Port in Hadramaut Governorate in eastern Yemen to reactivate strategically important ports that had been neglected and inactive in vital locations on the Arabian Sea and the Indian Ocean.
The move surprised many in Yemen, with some linking it to regional tensions, the closure of the Strait of Hormuz and disruptions to global trade.
Others linked it to projects revived alongside the US-Israeli war on Iran and the closure of Hormuz, including the Saudi project to export oil through corridors and ports on the Arabian Sea coast of Yemen.
Economic analyst Wafiq Saleh told TNA that if the situation develops into an open conflict over ports, economic forecasts point to growing instability in the Red Sea and the militarisation of international shipping through Bab al-Mandab and surrounding sea lanes.
This would likely lead to the closure of Yemeni ports, particularly those on the Red Sea, turning them into closed military operation zones and taking them out of commercial service for extended periods.
"If Red Sea ports are closed, the Houthi group will increase its reliance on shadow fleets operating beyond international oversight, while maritime piracy will also increase," Saleh continued. "The more dangerous scenario is the outbreak of a 'war of ports' and Houthi attacks on facilities controlled by the legitimate government, which would push the country into commercial isolation, paralyse supply chains to Yemen and deepen the food and humanitarian crisis across the country."
The economic adviser to the Yemeni presidency, Fares al-Najjar, previously told TNA that the internationally recognised government's actions represent an economic and strategic repositioning of the state concerning Yemen's ports in general.
He said the focus on ports in the eastern governorates reflects the government's desire to diversify centres of economic activity away from traditional bottlenecks, particularly as geopolitical risks increase in the Red Sea and the Strait of Hormuz.
For his part, economic expert Mohammed Jamal al-Shaibi told TNA that if tensions spread to ports or maritime navigation, the impact would not be limited to security concerns but would also disrupt shipping.
He stressed consequences like higher transport and insurance costs, rising food and fuel prices, declining customs revenues, additional pressure on the exchange rate of the riyal, and widening poverty and food insecurity.
"For a country such as Yemen, which depends heavily on imports," al-Shaibi said, "these consequences could prove more painful than the direct effects of direct military confrontations."
Article translated from Arabic by Afrah Almatwari. To read the original, click here .