In a bold overnight declaration, Yemen’s Houthi rebels announced a maritime embargo against Saudi Arabia, escalating the tension in the ongoing conflict between the US and Iran. This move poses a significant threat to Saudi Arabia, the world’s leading oil exporter, particularly concerning its ability to bypass the strategically critical Strait of Hormuz.
The Houthi group, backed by Iran, has yet to reveal the specific methods for enforcing the embargo. Their announcement coincided with Iran’s declaration of returning to a “full-scale war” with the United States, as ongoing skirmishes between Washington and Tehran over control of the strait continue.
Tensions flared last week when Saudi Arabia and the Houthis exchanged fire for the first time in several years, threatening to unravel a ceasefire established in 2022 that has miraculously endured even after its official expiration.
This recent exchange of hostilities was triggered when an Iranian aircraft attempted to land in Sanaa, directly challenging Saudi Arabia’s air supremacy over Yemen.
Should the Houthi blockade materialize, it could severely disrupt Saudi Arabia’s economic stability by hindering access to its vital Red Sea ports. With renewed conflict potentially limiting the vital oil passage through the Strait of Hormuz, Saudi Arabia may face significant economic repercussions.
The blockade is also expected to hurt global markets that rely on Saudi Arabia — which produces over 10 million barrels of crude per day — for energy imports.
The rebels declared “a maritime embargo against the criminal Saudi enemy, based on the equation of ‘an eye for an eye’, effective immediately”, military spokesman Yahya Saree said.
Stephane Dujarric, spokesman for the UN secretary-general, warned that the threat from the Houthis risked an “even wider” regional conflict.
How could the blockade impact global economy?
The Houthis have previously tried to cut off shipping through the Red Sea, leveraging the Bab al-Mandab Strait, a chokepoint at its southern tip which vessels must navigate when travelling to or from the Suez Canal and the Mediterranean.
Security expert Andreas Krieg said Tehran could ask the Houthis to “prepare the Bab al-Mandab front and may provide the strategic trigger, particularly if US pressure is degrading Iran’s position around Hormuz” even if the rebels retain “considerable autonomy”.
The full closure of the Bab al-Mandab strait would reduce global oil supply by 7 per cent as it would leave most of Saudi oil exports unable to leave the region. The disruption would add to the huge cut to oil flows from the US-Iran war, which has already reduced shipments by 10 per cent of global supply.
“A simultaneous crisis at Hormuz and Bab al-Mandab would produce a much larger shock than either blockade alone,” the King’s College London academic told Agence France-Presse.
“Hormuz disruption constrains Gulf oil and liquefied natural gas exports, while Bab al-Mandab disruption interrupts the principal maritime connection between Asia, the Gulf and Europe.”
The Houthis previously launched attacks on ships transiting the waterway beginning in November 2023 during the Gaza war, forcing vessels to take lengthy detours around Africa instead of travelling directly from Europe.
Yemen shares a border and coastline with Saudi Arabia, whose Red Sea port of Yanbu has been crucial for exporting oil, bypassing Iran’s effective closure of the Strait of Hormuz during its war with the US.
The conflict sowed panic on global energy markets until a ceasefire last month — which has since collapsed.
“Even if no ships are attacked, the announcement alone is likely to disrupt shipping and create uncertainty for Saudi ports,” said Mohammed al-Basha, of the US-based risk advisory Basha Report.
“Whether the Houthis move from threats to direct action remains the critical issue.”
Krieg said the blockade “would hurt Saudi Arabia very seriously”, explaining that much of Saudi Arabia’s oil was sold to Asian markets.
With the Bab al-Mandab closed, “those vessels would have to sail north through Suez, cross the Mediterranean, pass Gibraltar and travel around Africa before reaching Asia”.
In a statement, the Saudi foreign ministry condemned statements by the Houthis accusing Riyadh of “besieging” the Yemeni people.
The Saudi-led coalition in Yemen said it will respond to the Houthis’ threats to ships with “force”.
The coalition said in a statement that it began implementing safety measures for its ships passing through the Bab al-Mandab Strait.
Saree said the announced closure of Bab al-Mandab was in response to Saudi Arabia’s blockade of Houthi “ports and airports” and the targeting of Sanaa airport, adding they would respond to “the blockade with a blockade”.
Last week, the Houthis fired missiles at a Saudi airport in Abha after the airport in the rebel-held capital Sanaa was struck.
The Houthis blamed Riyadh for the strike, which the Aden-based Yemeni government said was launched to prevent an Iranian plane from landing.
For over a decade, aircraft entering Yemeni airspace have needed prior clearance from the Saudi-led coalition that backs the government and says it enforces the restriction at its request.
The Houthis have been at war with Yemen’s government since 2014, in a conflict that has killed hundreds of thousands of people.
Diplomatic push to restore US-Iran ceasefire
A senior Iranian official told Reuters news agency on Monday that Tehran had received a proposal from mediators for a 10-day ceasefire in efforts to salvage the interim deal, intended to pave the way to a lasting agreement to end the war that began on 28 February with US-Israeli attacks on Iran.
But they didn’t give any details on the putative ceasefire discussions.
Two Pakistani government sources said separately that Iranian interior minister Eskandar Momeni had asked Pakistan to resume its mediation role in the conflict. He later arrived in Islamabad for further talks.
The diplomatic push followed another night of US strikes on Iranian cities and attacks by Iran’s Revolutionary Guards on US military assets across the region.
US President Donald Trump, under mounting political pressure at home over rising gasoline prices since the war began and Iran effectively closed the vital Strait of Hormuz, defended the latest strikes on Iran as “honouring” the deaths of up to three American service members in recent Iranian attacks.
“Every time Iran kills an American Soldier they will pay for that killing many times over! This directive has been passed on to Secretary of War, Pete Hegseth, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, Daniel Caine, and every Leader in the Military,” Trump wrote on Truth Social.