Yemen's Iran-aligned Houthis said on Monday they would impose a naval blockade on Saudi Arabia, raising the threat to global energy supplies and trade beyond the Gulf. DUBAI/RIYADH, July 20 (Reuters) - Yemen’s Iran-aligned Houthis said on Monday they would impose a naval blockade on Saudi Arabia, opening a potential new front against the United States in its war with Iran and raising the threat to global energy supplies and trade beyond the Gulf. Yemen’s Iran-backed Houthi rebels have announced a maritime blockade on Saudi Arabia after the two sides traded fire
Yemen's Houthis declare blockade on Saudi Arabia, raising Red Sea tensions Yemen’s Houthis announced a maritime embargo of Saudi Arabia on Monday, escalating tensions with Riyadh in the Red Sea at a time when it is serving as a linchpin for global energy markets. The Houthis did not say how they planned to impose the embargo, but it comes as tensions with Riyadh were already rising over the status of flights to Sanaa, the capital of Yemen held by the Houthis. Saudi Arabian Defence Minister Khalid bin Salman has suggested to counterparts that Riyadh has wide latitude from the Trump administration to conduct offensive strikes on the group, but other elements of the Saudi Arabian government say the kingdom’s posture is solely defensive, Middle East Eye reported recently.
The Houthis' armed forces said in a statement that they had imposed "a maritime embargo against the criminal Saudi enemy, based on the equation of 'an eye for an eye', effective immediately". Saudi Arabia and the Houthis traded fire last week for the first time in years, threatening a 2022 truce backed by the United Nations that has held despite expiring. The exchange of fire was set off when an Iranian plane arriving from Tehran attempted to land in Sanaa, challenging the status quo under which Yemen’s connection with the outside world has mainly been restricted to flights to Cairo and Amman.
(adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push({}); The exchange of fire was set off when an Iranian plane arriving from Tehran attempted to land in Sanaa, challenging the status quo under which Yemen’s connection with the outside world has mainly been restricted to flights to Cairo and Amman. The Houthis control Sanaa and most of Yemen’s populated northwest, while Saudi Arabia backs an internationally recognised government based in the southern Yemeni port city of Aden. The two sides have failed to reach a political settlement to bridge Yemen’s divide.
The Houthis say the embargo begins immediately and is a response to a Saudi blockade of ports and airports in Yemen. Bab el-Mandeb, at the southern tip of the Arabian Peninsula, is the gateway to the Red Sea through which around 12% of the world’s trade usually passes The Iran-backed Houthi militia, which controls parts of Yemen, has in the past blockaded the Red Sea by threatening a choke point crucial to Saudi oil exports and global shipping.
Yemeni group says the announcement is based on the principle of 'an eye for an eye'. Responding to recent Saudi-led attacks on Houthi-held airport, rebels invoke 'an eye for an eye,' vow to match Riyadh's 'blockade with a blockade' The post Yemen’s Iran-backed Houthis announce maritime blockade of Saudi Arabia appeared first on The Times of Israel. Yemen's Iranian-backed Houthi rebels on Monday announced they are imposing a maritime embargo against Saudi Arabia in retaliation for a blockade.
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