Yemen's Houthi rebels declare maritime blockade against Saudi Arabia

Yemen's Iran-backed Houthi rebels declared a maritime blockade against Saudi Arabia on Monday (local time).

Houthi military spokesperson Yahya Sari said the group was "declaring a maritime blockade against the criminal Saudi enemy, in accordance with the eye-for-an-eye principle, effective immediately."

Sari said the move was a direct response to Saudi Arabia's blockade of Houthi-controlled ports and airports and last week's strike on Sanaa airport. "We will meet a blockade with a blockade," he said. He also warned that "no matter what foolish acts the reckless Saudi enemy commits to escalate tensions, we will respond with comprehensive and decisive escalation."

However, he did not specify how the maritime blockade would be enforced.

Saudi Arabia had yet to issue an official response.

The Houthis attacked more than 100 vessels in the Red Sea over several months beginning in 2023, citing solidarity with the Palestinian militant group Hamas during the Gaza war. The Iran-backed group accused Saudi Arabia of bombing Sanaa airport — which the Houthis control — on July 13, and subsequently struck airports inside Saudi Arabia in retaliation and declared an end to a truce.

With the Strait of Hormuz — through which roughly 20 percent of the world's energy cargo passes — already closed amid armed conflict between the United States and Iran, the Houthi blockade declaration raises the prospect of further disruption at the Bab el-Mandeb Strait, the southern entrance to the Red Sea.

If the Houthis move to choke off the Bab el-Mandeb, the sea route from Saudi Arabia's Red Sea export terminal at Yanbu through to the Arabian Sea would also be cut, effectively blocking most of Saudi Arabia's crude oil exports and removing roughly 7 percent of global oil supply.

Saudi Arabia has already been rerouting crude through its East-West pipeline to Yanbu as tanker traffic through the Strait of Hormuz has become increasingly difficult.

The Houthi announcement came as the US and Iran, now ten days into their armed conflict, showed tentative signs of reopening diplomatic channels through intermediaries.

Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Esmail Baghaei confirmed that a mediating country had recently put forward a de-escalation proposal that included a 10-day truce, signaling that diplomatic contacts were ongoing.

Pakistan, acting as a mediator, also confirmed that Iranian Interior Minister Eskandar Momeni was scheduled to visit the country. Baghaei, however, drew a line, saying Momeni's visit would focus on bilateral issues between the two countries.

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio had earlier said that "as long as Iran insists on controlling international waterways, we have no choice but to respond," while adding that "the United States is always open to a diplomatic solution."

Yet on Monday, the tenth day of the US-Iran armed conflict, an oil tanker attempting to transit the Strait of Hormuz along a route hugging the Omani coast came under attack, and Iran continued retaliatory strikes against US military facilities in Gulf states.

Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps said two oil tankers exploded while attempting to pass through the strait via an unsafe route.

The United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations said a vessel off the Omani coast overlooking the Strait of Hormuz was struck by an unidentified projectile. The ship was adrift but its crew had safely evacuated, it said.

Iranian state media reported explosions in Tabriz, Chabahar, Konarak, Bandar Mahshahr and Bandar Imam Khomeini following what it described as a ninth consecutive day of US airstrikes. The Revolutionary Guard said it struck back, targeting US aircraft at Jordan's Aqaba airport, military assets at Camp Al-Adiri and Ali Al Salem Air Base in Kuwait, and positions inside Syria. Air raid sirens sounded in Bahrain, and Kuwait's military said it had intercepted Iranian drones.