Yemen’s Iran-aligned Houthi movement announced on Monday that it was imposing a naval blockade on Saudi Arabia, a move that could further escalate regional tensions and threaten global energy supplies and maritime trade.
In a statement, the Houthis’ armed forces declared the immediate enforcement of what they described as “a maritime embargo against the criminal Saudi enemy, based on the equation of ‘an eye for an eye’.”
The group said the decision was in response to what it called “an unjust and oppressive siege” imposed on Yemen by Saudi Arabia.
There was no immediate response from Saudi authorities to the Houthi announcement.
The declaration comes amid heightened instability across the Middle East, raising concerns over the security of vital shipping routes and the potential impact on international energy markets.