Saudi condemns Houthi blockade: How will the rest of the world be impacted?
Saudi Arabia has condemned the Houthi naval blockade that could impact oil flow to importers of Saudi oil. Saudi Arabia on Monday condemned allegations by
Saudi Arabia has condemned the Houthi naval blockade that could impact oil flow to importers of Saudi oil. Saudi Arabia on Monday condemned allegations by Yemen’s Iran-aligned Houthis that Riyadh was imposing a siege on the Yemeni people, after the group announced it would impose a maritime blockade on Saudi Arabia. Amid the disruption in shipping through the Strait of Hormuz during the US-Israel war on Iran, Saudi Arabia was attempting to facilitate oil flow through alternative routes through the Red Sea and the Bab al-Mandeb Strait. Now that route is under threat from the Houthis. The Saudi Foreign Ministry said in a statement that it would take “all necessary measures” to protect its ships. The Houthis have a track record of disrupting shipping traffic in the Red Sea. Here is a closer look at the blockade and what impact it might have beyond Saudi Arabia. What’s the latest on the blockade? The Houthis said on Monday that they would impose a naval blockade on Saudi Arabia, opening a potential new front against the US in its war with Iran and raising the threat to global energy supplies and trade beyond the Gulf. In their statement, the Houthis said the declaration of the maritime embargo was “based on the equation of ‘an eye for an eye'” and affirmed “the right of our great people to respond to the blockade with a blockade” and to “all escalation with escalation”. The Houthis also expressed “complete readiness for all options” and warned that “any foolish” Saudi act would be met with a “comprehensive and decisive” response. “We call upon the people of our great nation to continue the general mobilisation and general call to arms, and to be fully prepared for all scenarios and developments and to support the fronts with fighters,” the group said. It was not immediately clear how the Houthis would implement the maritime blockade or whether it could signal a return to attacks on international shipping off the Yemeni coast.
The Houthis disrupted global commerce when they began attacking ships around the Bab al-Mandeb Strait following the launch of Israel’s genocidal war on Gaza in October 2023. The attacks ended with the announcement of a “ceasefire” in Gaza in October 2025. The Bab al-Mandeb chokepoint connecting the Red Sea to the Gulf of Aden is one of the world’s most important shipping routes, including for oil exports worldwide. Between Yemen to the northeast and Djibouti and Eritrea in the Horn of Africa to the southwest, the strait is just 29km (18 miles) wide at its narrowest point, limiting traffic to two channels for inbound and outbound vessels using the Suez Canal. In 2024, about 4.1 billion barrels of crude oil and refined petroleum products passed through the strait – about five percent of the global total. With the Strait of Hormuz effectively closed since Israel and the United States launched their war on Iran in late February, shutting down Bab al-Mandeb as well could block 25 percent of the world’s oil and gas supply. What is the context? The Houthis, who seized Yemen’s capital, Sanaa, in 2014, accused Saudi leaders of imposing “an unjust and oppressive siege” for nearly 12 years, “plundering our resources and imposing a comprehensive blockade on our ports and airports by land, sea, and air”. Yemen has been mired in civil war for more than a decade since the Houthis seized the capital, prompting a Saudi-led military intervention in 2015 in support of the internationally recognised government. The conflict has since evolved into one of the world’s worst humanitarian crises, leaving the country divided between a Saudi-backed and internationally recognised government in Aden and a Houthi administration in Sanaa. Cargo ships and other vessels have regularly arrived at the port of Houthi-controlled Hodeidah, including in recent weeks, delivering food, fuel and other goods, according to shipping data. What’s the latest on the Saudi-Houthi spat? The announcement came days after the Houthis blamed Saudi Arabia for attacking Sanaa airport, despite Yemen’s internationally recognised government claiming responsibility, saying it was to prevent an Iranian plane from landing in the capital.
The BriefWire