Yemen's Houthis announce 'maritime embargo' on Saudi Arabia

Yemen's Houthis have announced a "maritime embargo" against Saudi Arabia, BBC reported. 

The Iran-backed group's military spokesman said it would begin immediately and was in retaliation for a Saudi blockade of ports and airports in Houthi-controlled north-western Yemen.

He gave few details about the embargo, but a Houthi media official said they were closing the Bab al-Mandab Strait - the Red Sea's southern gateway - to Saudi vessels.

In response, Saudi Arabia's foreign ministry condemned the allegation, vowing that the country "will take all necessary measures to protect its ships in accordance with international law".

The Red Sea has become crucial for oil shipments from Saudi Arabia during the US-Israeli war with Iran, which has led to the effective closure of the Strait of Hormuz in the Gulf.

Yemen's Houthis announce 'maritime embargo' on Saudi Arabia

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David Gritten

EPA Houthi troops stand guard during a protest against Saudi Arabia, in Sanaa, Yemen. Photo: 17 July 2026EPA

The Houthis said the embargo was a response to a Saudi blockade of ports and airports in Yemen

Yemen's Houthis have announced a "maritime embargo" against Saudi Arabia.

The Iran-backed group's military spokesman said it would begin immediately and was in retaliation for a Saudi blockade of ports and airports in Houthi-controlled north-western Yemen.

He gave few details about the embargo, but a Houthi media official said they were closing the Bab al-Mandab Strait - the Red Sea's southern gateway - to Saudi vessels.

In response, Saudi Arabia's foreign ministry condemned the allegation, vowing that the country "will take all necessary measures to protect its ships in accordance with international law".

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The Red Sea has become crucial for oil shipments from Saudi Arabia during the US-Israeli war with Iran, which has led to the effective closure of the Strait of Hormuz in the Gulf.

It comes a week after the most significant escalation in the largely dormant conflict between the Houthis and Saudi Arabia since an informal truce took effect in 2022.

The Houthis said they had launched missiles at Abha airport in south-western Saudi Arabia in response to air strikes on Sanaa's airport that they blamed on the kingdom.

The strikes were claimed by the Saudi-backed Yemeni government, which said it had wanted to prevent an Iranian plane from landing in the capital without authorisation.

Yemen has been devastated by a civil war that began in 2014, when the Houthis ousted the government from Sanaa. The conflict escalated in 2015, after the Saudi-led coalition of Arab states intervened in an attempt to restore the government's rule.