Houthis threaten Saudi Red Sea oil route with new naval blockade

Yemen’s Houthi movement declared an immediate maritime embargo against Saudi Arabia on Monday, saying it would answer Riyadh’s blockade of Yemeni ports and airports with a blockade of its own [0]. The move threatens to turn the Bab al-Mandeb Strait, the southern gateway to the Red Sea, into a second active chokepoint in a regional war already straining oil flows through the Strait of Hormuz reuters.

The group offered few operational details. Houthi military spokesman Yahya Saree framed the order as “an eye for an eye,” while another Houthi official said the measure meant closing Bab al-Mandeb to Saudi ships nbcnews. Saudi Arabia had not issued an immediate public response, leaving shippers and insurers to judge whether the announcement is a warning shot or the start of renewed attacks at sea aljazeera.

The risk is bigger now because Saudi Arabia has leaned harder on its East-West Pipeline to move crude to Yanbu on the Red Sea as fighting disrupts Hormuz. Analysts cited by regional outlets said Yanbu has become a vital release valve for Saudi exports, with millions of barrels a day moving through the Red Sea route abcnews. Al Jazeera reported that petroleum traffic through Bab al-Mandeb reached 7.4 million barrels a day in June, about 7% of global output reuters.

The threat follows the sharpest Saudi-Houthi flare-up in years. The Houthis accused Saudi Arabia of striking Sanaa’s airport after a dispute over an Iranian flight, while Yemen’s internationally recognized government said it carried out the operation. The Houthis then fired missiles at Saudi Arabia’s Abha airport, testing a fragile calm that had held since a 2022 truce nbcnews.

Even without immediate ship strikes, the declaration can raise costs. The Houthis showed after October 2023 that they could force vessels away from the Red Sea and around southern Africa, adding time and fuel to voyages nbcnews. With the United States and Iran still trading fire, Monday’s announcement gives markets one more front to price: not just whether oil can leave the Gulf, but whether Saudi cargoes can safely clear the Red Sea.