Yemen’s Iran-backed Houthi rebels have announced a total maritime embargo on Saudi Arabia, declaring that they will stop all Saudi vessels from navigating through the strategic Bab al-Mandeb Strait. The group stated that the action is a direct response to the long-running Saudi-led economic blockade on Yemen and a recent military strike near Sanaa International Airport.
Houthi military spokesperson Yahya Saree confirmed in a video message that the shipping ban would come into effect straight away, describing the decision as a direct eye-for-an-eye retaliation.
The rebel group did not share specific details on how they plan to enforce the restrictions on the water. However, the deputy head of the Houthi media office, Nasruddin Amer, stated on social media that the narrow passage would be closed to Saudi transport to punish the kingdom for maintaining an unjust blockade against the Yemeni people for more than a decade.
The Bab al-Mandeb Strait sits at the southern entrance to the Red Sea and functions as one of the most vital shipping lanes in the world. Roughly 12% of total global commerce passes through this waterway, while about a quarter of all international container traffic travels through the 20-mile wide channel on its way to and from the Suez Canal.
The Houthis have previously demonstrated their ability to severely disrupt commercial shipping by launching strikes against more than 100 merchant vessels during the Israel-Hamas conflict in Gaza. It remains uncertain whether the faction intends to restart large-scale attacks specifically aimed at Saudi Arabian assets.
Riyadh did not immediately release an official statement regarding the threat. The kingdom has already been depending heavily on its domestic East-West Pipeline to move crude oil directly to the Red Sea, bypassing the dangerous Strait of Hormuz where Iran intensified naval patrols following American and Israeli military strikes on 28 February. Millions of barrels of Saudi crude oil are pumped through this alternative overland pipeline daily.
Saudi Arabia has commanded a military coalition fighting the Houthis since 2015, enforcing tight air and sea restrictions after the rebel forces captured the capital city of Sanaa and pushed the internationally recognized government out of the country in 2014. A truce brokered by the United Nations brought temporary calm in 2022, but tensions have spiked once again.
The latest escalation follows accusations from the Houthis that Saudi forces targeted Sanaa International Airport to block a flight carrying senior rebel leaders who were returning from Iran, where they had attended the funeral of Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. That aircraft eventually landed safely at a different airport.
In retaliation, the rebel forces launched a cluster of missiles and explosive drones at Saudi Arabia's Abha International Airport, marking the most serious direct clash between the two sides in several years.
Independent industry experts suggest that the Houthis are trying to secure complete control over Yemeni airspace by allowing international flights to land without getting permission from the Saudi-led coalition.
Military spokesperson Yahya Saree defended the decision, stating that the local population has every right to counter an economic blockade with a shipping blockade, warning that any further moves by Riyadh would be met with a decisive escalation.
The Houthi faction remains a key member of Iran's regional Axis of Resistance alliance, which also includes powerful armed groups operating across Lebanon, Iraq, and the Palestinian territories.
Although the rebels have accumulated a massive stock of uncrewed aerial vehicles, several Houthi insiders previously indicated that their stockpiles had been heavily drained by continuous operations during the Gaza conflict. They added that the recent instability involving Iran has further slowed the transport of new weaponry into Yemen.
Earlier Houthi operations against merchant shipping triggered a prolonged aerial bombing campaign by American and Israeli forces against rebel-held zones in Yemen, which only stopped after an agreement was hammered out to halt the maritime raids.
Any sustained disruption to cargo transit through the Bab al-Mandeb Strait would force international shipping lines to divert vessels around the Cape of Good Hope in South Africa, adding significant travel time and fuel costs to global supply chains.
