Houthis Block Red Sea Gateway, Cut Off Saudi Access

Yemen’s Iran-allied Houthi militia has officially announced a total maritime blockade against Saudi Arabia, an aggressive move that risks triggering a new battlefront for the United States in its war against Tehran and threatens global trade and energy supply routes beyond the Strait of Hormuz. The Houthi Armed Forces stated they are imposing a maritime embargo on Saudi Arabia based on the principle of ‘an eye for an eye’, effective immediately, claiming it as a direct response to what they called an unjust and oppressive siege of Yemen by Riyadh and its cooperation with the group’s rival, the deposed Sana’a government. ‘Declaring a maritime embargo against the criminal enemy Saudi Arabia, based on the equation of an eye for an eye, effective immediately,’ the Houthi armed forces’ official statement read. The threat immediately caused shipping insurance costs for goods passing through the Red Sea to spike sharply as security risks for commercial vessels increased. Iran is reportedly urging the Houthis to close the Bab el-Mandeb Strait gateway to the Red Sea entirely if the US persists in attacking their electricity infrastructure. A full closure of the strait is predicted to cut global oil supply by up to 7 per cent, as most Saudi oil exports would be unable to leave the region, worsening a global energy shortage already reduced by 10 per cent due to the war in the Gulf. Responding to the manoeuvre, Riyadh condemned the Houthi move, claiming it has not committed criminal acts against Yemen and that it only cooperates with the legitimate Yemeni government. ‘The Kingdom affirms that we cooperate with the legitimate Yemeni government to alleviate the suffering of the Yemeni people by continuing development projects, supporting the legitimate government’s funds, and providing petroleum derivatives for power plants,’ the Saudi Foreign Ministry stated. Behind the escalation at sea, international mediators are reportedly moving quickly to propose a 10-day ceasefire to salvage an emergency deal to end the war that erupted on 28 February. Iran’s Interior Minister Eskandar Momeni has reportedly arrived in Islamabad to ask Pakistan to resume its mediation role in the conflict. The diplomatic push follows a ninth consecutive night of US airstrikes on several Iranian cities, retaliated by the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) striking US military assets in Jordan, Kuwait, and Syria with ballistic missiles and drones. US President Donald Trump, facing domestic political pressure over surging petrol prices following Iran’s closure of the Strait of Hormuz, defended the strikes as decisive action to honour three fallen US service members. ‘Every time Iran kills an American Soldier, they will pay for that killing many times over! These instructions have been passed 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. The large-scale armed conflict has killed thousands, mostly in Iran and Lebanon. Lebanese President Joseph Aoun is scheduled to meet Trump at the White House on Tuesday to present a plan for disarming the Tehran-allied Hezbollah group and securing an Israeli troop withdrawal. Meanwhile, Palestinian militant group Hamas announced the appointment of their veteran negotiator Khalil Al-Hayya as the organisation’s new supreme leader, a move analysts view as a signal that Hamas will adopt a much harder and more rigid stance against international demands to disarm in the Gaza Strip.