Houthis declare Maritime embargo on Saudi Arabia, escalating regional conflict

Yemen’s Houthi rebels announced a maritime embargo against Saudi Arabia on Monday, stepping up the US-Iran war as the rebels threatened the top oil exporter’s ability to bypass the Strait of Hormuz. The group did not specify how it planned to impose the embargo, but the declaration came as Iran said it was back to a “full-scale war” with the United States, and as Washington and Tehran battled to control the strait.

The Houthis’ naval blockade, if enforced, could further strain Saudi Arabia’s economy by cutting off access to its Red Sea ports, which have been vital for oil exports as renewed fighting limits passage through the Strait of Hormuz. 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.

The announcement comes after Saudi Arabia and the Houthis traded fire last week for the first time in years, threatening a 2022 truce that had held despite expiring. The exchange of strikes was set off when an Iranian plane attempted to land in Sanaa, challenging Saudi Arabia’s hegemony over Yemeni skies. The Houthis, who are part of Iran’s “Axis of Resistance,” have been coordinating closely with Tehran as the conflict intensifies.

Stephane Dujarric, spokesman for the UN secretary-general, warned that the threat from the Houthis risked an “even wider” regional conflict. “A simultaneous crisis at Hormuz and Bab al-Mandab would produce a much larger shock than either blockade alone,” a King’s College London academic told AFP.

In a separate development, Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps announced on Monday that they had hit targets in Syria, Jordan, and Kuwait overnight. In Syria, Iranian forces launched “a surprise attack on the enemy special operations command centre in the Al-Tanf region.” In Jordan, the Guards said they targeted US military aircraft stationed at Aqaba Airport “with ballistic missiles, causing severe damage to a number of them.” The Guards also said they hit US military targets based in Kuwait, including an early-warning radar system that was “completely destroyed.” Kuwaiti air defences were “engaging hostile drone attacks following Iranian aggression,” its army said on Monday, while Bahrain’s interior ministry also said its air raid sirens had sounded.

The escalating conflict has raised fears of a wider regional war, with the Houthi embargo on Saudi Arabia adding a new dimension to the hostilities. The international community has urged restraint, but with both sides trading military strikes and threats, the prospects for de-escalation appear increasingly remote. As the conflict continues, the risk of further casualties and regional instability remains high, with devastating consequences for the region and the global economy. The coming days will be critical in determining whether diplomatic efforts can prevent a full-scale war.