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Published on 20 Jul 2026
Yemen’s Houthi leaders have announced a naval blockade against Saudi Arabia, effective immediately.
Monday’s announcement came days after the group, known as Ansar Allah, to threaten to “besiege” the kingdom in retaliation attack on Sanaa International Airport last week.
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This marks a new phase in the long-running war between the Iran-allied Houthis and the Saudi-led coalition, which has supported Yemen’s internationally recognized government since 2015.
It also comes as the United States and Iran continue to exchange fire amid their disagreement over the Strait of Hormuz, which has also disrupted the global energy market.
Here’s what you need to know:
What will the Houthis announce?
In their statement, the Houthis said that the announcement of the naval embargo “was based on the equality of “an eye for an eye” and they confirmed “the right of our great people to respond to the blockade” and “all escalation”.
The group, which seized Yemen’s capital, Sanaa, in 2014, accused the Saudi leaders of creating an “unjust and oppressive cycle” for nearly 12 years, “destroying our economy and blocking our ports and airports by land, sea, and air”.
The Houthis also expressed “full readiness for all options” and warned that “any stupidity” by the Saudis would be answered “completely and decisively”.
“We are asking the people of our great nation to continue to mobilize all the people and call to arms, and to prepare for all that is happening and to support the fighters.”
What caused this?
The announcement came days after the Houthis accused Saudi Arabia of attacking Sanaa airport, despite Yemen’s internationally recognized government saying it was involved, saying it was preventing an Iranian plane from reaching the capital.
In response to the attack, the Houthis opened fire on Saudi Arabia’s Abha International Airport. The Saudi-led coalition said it successfully intercepted the salvo.
This followed fighting between the Houthis and government forces in Hodeidah, threatening four years of fragile peace since the temporary signing.
What is Bab al-Mandeb Strait?
It was not immediately clear how the Houthis would use the naval blockade or if it would indicate a return to international naval attacks from the Yemeni coast.
The Houthis disrupted international trade when they started attack ships around the Bab al-Mandeb Strait following the start of the Israeli offensive on Gaza in 2023. The offensive ended with the announcement of an “end” to Gaza last October.
The Bab al-Mandeb chokepoint that connects the Red Sea to the Gulf of Aden is one of the most important shipping routes, including the world’s oil shipments.
Between Yemen in the northeast and Djibouti and Eritrea in the Horn of Africa in the southwest, the road is 29km (18 miles) wide at its narrowest point, reducing the volume of two canals for ships entering and leaving using the Suez Canal.
In 2024, about 4.1 billion barrels of crude and refined oil passed through the river – about 5 percent of the global total.
The Strait of Hormuz has been effectively closed since the start of the US-Israel war in Iran at the end of February, closing the Bab al-Mandeb and potentially blocking 25 percent of the world’s oil and gas.
What does this mean for Saudi Arabia?
The announcement is also expected to curb the export of essential oil to Saudi Arabia.
Since the US-Israeli war against Iran and the closure of the Strait of Hormuz, the kingdom has sought other means of export.
His East-West Pipeline, or Petroline, has been the answer. Originally built in the 1980s, the 1,201km- (746 miles-) pipeline runs from the eastern Abqaiq oil field across the country to the western Red Sea port of Yanbu. The pipeline pumps about 7 million barrels of oil per day.
From there, tankers send the oil through Bab al-Mandeb to major markets in Asia and elsewhere.
Ship tracking data from Kpler and Signal Ocean showed shipments from Yanbu totaled 4 million barrels per day in recent weeks, up from about 973,000 bpd a year earlier, according to Reuters.
Total oil passing through the Bab al-Mandeb was 7.4 million bpd in June, or about 7 percent of the world’s oil, according to Kpler data. This compares to 4.2 million bpd last year.
