The Iran-backed Houthi militia in Yemen on Monday said it would impose a maritime blockade on Saudi Arabia, a U.S. ally, in a move that threatened to open a new front in the regional war and further disrupt global energy supplies.
The Houthis did not offer any specifics on what such a blockade would entail. But the territory controlled by the Houthis in Yemen sits alongside the Bab al-Mandab, a narrow waterway that leads into the southern end of the Red Sea.
Yahya Saree, a Houthi military spokesman, said in a televised address on Monday that the move came in response to what he called a “continued Saudi siege” on Yemen, accusing the neighboring country of keeping ports and airports closed and imposing land, sea, and air restrictions for years.
Mr. Saree said Houthi forces were ready to respond to any Saudi reprisal, warning that any move by Riyadh would be met with “a total and harsh escalation.” The Saudi government and a Saudi-led military coalition did not respond to requests for comment.
During the Israel-Hamas war in Gaza that began in late 2023, the Houthis menaced ships in the Red Sea, hijacking them and attacking with drones and missiles. Their bombardment forced shipping companies to divert their cargo around the Cape of Good Hope, at Africa’s southern tip, sending global shipping costs soaring.
An escalation by the Houthis would only deepen regional chaos after a U.S.-Iran truce unraveled over the past few weeks, with the two sides and their respective regional allies reverting to daily attacks on each other. In the war, which began at the end of February when the United States and Israel assailed Iran, Iran has retaliated widely against U.S. allies including Jordan and Persian Gulf states like Saudi Arabia.
Dueling Iranian and American blockades of the Strait of Hormuz, another critical waterway, have upended global oil markets throughout the war, creating volatility and raising the price of energy supplies.
The Houthis — an armed faction that is part of the so-called “axis of resistance” led by Iran — have been fighting Yemen’s internationally recognized and Saudi-backed government since they overran the Yemeni capital, Sana, in 2014.
Last week, a four-year truce between Saudi Arabia and the Houthis in Yemen crumbled after the group accused Saudi Arabia of bombing Yemen’s main international airport in an attempt to prevent an Iranian plane from landing in Sana. After the bombing, the Houthis fired ballistic missiles toward an airport in southern Saudi Arabia.
Analysts say the past week’s developments are connected to the broader regional war.
“That’s a narrative that plays well with their audience inside Yemen. But in reality, it’s closely tied to Iran,” said Ahmed Nagi, a senior Yemen analyst at the International Crisis Group. “If this confrontation expands to affect the Bab al-Mandab, the consequences would go far beyond Saudi. It would have a major impact on global trade.”
A Houthi maritime blockade on Saudi Arabia in the Red Sea could affect more than 3 percent of the global oil market. Saudi Arabia has leaned on the Bab al-Mandab in recent months to export more than 3.6 million barrels of oil and related fuels a day, most of it to Asia, according to the maritime data firm Kpler.
Yasir al-Rumayyan, the chairman of Saudi Arabia’s state oil giant, recently said the ability to bypass the blocked Strait of Hormuz and use those Red Sea export terminals had been a “lifeline” for the kingdom’s economy.
Lisa Friedman and Rebecca F. Elliott contributed reporting.
