While the U.S. warns Israel to avoid taking risks, Yemen is preparing to shoot down F-35 fifth-generation aircraft and capture their pilots.

In an exceptionally sensitive timing, the President of the Supreme Political Council, Field Marshal Mahdi al-Mashat, issued statements that carried profound strategic shifts, resonating widely both regionally and internationally—among friends as well as enemies—each interpreting them through the lens of their own ideological, political, or religious biases. It is notable that most have yet to fully grasp the essence of these remarks, even though they were clear and require no convoluted interpretations.

The statements, which came in the aftermath of the Israeli aggression on Sana’a International Airport and the destruction of a civilian passenger plane, were not merely a political stance or a condemnatory communiqué; rather, they signaled the dawn of a new phase in the conflict and fundamentally altered the rules of engagement. President al-Mashat’s remarks revolved around two primary points regarding Yemen’s combat position after the recent Israeli attack on Sana’a airport and the destruction of the last civilian airliner.

First Point:
He declared that the civilian air corridor used by Israeli aircraft to infiltrate and launch aggressive strikes against Yemen’s vital infrastructure has now been designated a military operations zone for Yemeni forces. Yemen took this measure because, following American warnings to Israel that Yemeni airspace was no longer safe, the Israelis carried out their latest attack by weaving in and out of civilian air traffic lanes during peak flight hours. As a result, Yemen’s air defenses, upon identifying hostile warplanes and locking onto them, were unable to engage with lethal anti-aircraft missiles for fear of hitting civilian aircraft. Consequently, the decision was made to impose a prohibition on that corridor.

Second Point:
He issued a warning to all commercial airlines using that air corridor to cease operations there immediately and to follow alternative routes outside the newly prohibited zone. At the same time, this served as a reassurance to all global carriers that every other civilian air route remains safe for navigation—except for that single banned corridor.

It is important here to note the reasons and motivations that compelled Field Marshal Mahdi al-Mashat to make this declaration at precisely this moment. Observers noticed that, following the withdrawal of U.S. naval and air forces from the theater of combat engagements—an agreement announced by U.S. President Trump, mediated by Oman between Yemen and America—both sides pledged to cease attacks on each other. With this agreement, America, for the first time since its inception, effectively abandoned Israel. Many U.S. military analysts and think tanks interpreted this rapid, president-level announcement not as a mere diplomatic formality, but as an admission of a preventive defeat—chosen rather than forced—aimed at avoiding a far greater compulsory defeat had hostilities continued into the coming days. This, in essence, is the uncomfortable truth regarding the so-called American defeat. But what is the precise nature of that truth?

Was it because the aircraft carrier Harry S. Truman suffered crushing blows from Yemeni forces? Or because it lost three F/A-18E/F Super Hornet fighters? Was it because of the $7 billion in losses, or due to the larger setback America repeatedly highlighted—the depletion of its expensive munitions stockpile and the exhaustion of strategic naval assets? Or perhaps because the Truman collided with a commercial vessel during its penultimate retreat—having lost many of its navigational and secure guidance systems as a result of Yemeni missile and drone strikes? Could it have been due to the anxiety, stress, and psychological strain among its crew of 3,000 sailors, pilots, engineers, technicians, and Navy infantrymen? In truth, none of these explanations capture the whole story.

The bitter reality that the Americans sought to conceal is that the Harry S. Truman was rendered combat-unready as of March 23, 2025—and that it remained afloat only to preserve whatever shreds of American credibility it could, allowing Washington to continue portraying its deterrent forces and hegemonic tools as still holding firm on the field. Yet the hidden truth that stunned American decision-makers was that a fifth-generation F-35 warplane had suffered a lethal intercept by Yemen’s air-defense forces—and miraculously survived. That is the real secret. Why was this so significant?

1. Because the U.S. still regards the F-35 as its premier, most advanced, and most capable combat aircraft—central to its future wars.

2. Because America has contracted with numerous countries to purchase F-35s; any downing of one would not only shatter the image of U.S. deterrence that has long dominated the world but also prompt those purchasing nations to cancel their contracts—costing America hundreds of billions of dollars and irreparably tarnishing the reputation of the F-35 family of low-observable fighters across all four production blocks.

As Forbes magazine deeply analyzed, the fear that the Houthis might one day shoot down an F-35—and even capture its pilots—has become merely a matter of time. This reality compelled America to withdraw from the battlefield, choosing a dignified defeat in the face of Yemeni forces—acceptable losses now, rather than an inevitable, unbearable defeat later accompanied by scandal.

Regarding Field Marshal al-Mashat’s additional remark that “the coming days will bring you good news concerning the Israeli aircraft that struck Yemen” and that Yemen’s air defenses “will turn Israeli jets into objects of ridicule in the near future,” this statement indicates that Yemen’s military capabilities are evolving. In the days ahead, we can expect the announcement of new air-defense systems specifically designed to counter fifth-generation U.S. F-35 stealth fighters—or perhaps those systems will simply make their presence known in action, visibly intercepting hostile aircraft in Yemeni airspace.