Houthis announce blockade of strategic oil route

The measure comes after extremists announced a maritime blockade against the Arab country and threatened for days to close the Bab el-Mandeb Strait, the second largest oil export route in the Middle East.

“We warn all ships belonging to the Saudi enemy not to transit the Red Sea or the Gulf of Aden. In case of non-compliance with the decision of the Yemeni Armed Forces (Houthis), these ships will be our target,” said the radio broadcast on Channel 16, the extremists’ naval channel.

The warning was issued in relation to the “navigation ban for Saudi ships due to the constant siege on the Yemeni nation.” The Houthis have been at the center of escalating tensions with Riyadh over the past week, accusing the Saudis of imposing a blockade on Yemen.

The Houthis declared a naval blockade against Saudi Arabia a week after the Yemeni army bombed Sanaa International Airport — the rebel-held capital of Yemen — an attack aimed at preventing the landing of an Iranian plane.

The rebels blamed Saudi Arabia for the attack, although Riyadh did not comment, and responded with attacks on Saudi territory.

Furthermore, the Houthis accuse Riyadh of intensifying the air blockade and restricting sea imports through the Red Sea port of Al Hodeida, a crucial entry point for humanitarian aid into the areas of Yemen they control.

The Yemeni government, for its part, claims that extremists use the port and airport to obtain weapons supplies, mainly from Iran.

This is the sharpest escalation of tension between the Houthis and Saudi Arabia since the UN-brokered ceasefire in 2022, which has largely halted hostilities so far despite the agreement’s expiration that same year. For Saudi Arabia, this maritime blockade adds to the already existing blockade in the Strait of Hormuz.