SANAA, Yemen – Web Desk: Yemen’s Houthi group has issued a stark warning to Saudi Arabia, threatening to block the strategic Bab el-Mandeb strait to Saudi vessels if restrictions on Yemeni ports are not lifted . The Houthis demanded the immediate removal of all obstacles to maritime traffic at Yemeni ports to allow commercial and humanitarian activities to resume .
The Houthi leadership warned that if their demands are not met within a specified deadline, Saudi-affiliated ships would be barred from passing through the Bab el-Mandeb strait, a critical chokepoint connecting the Red Sea to the Gulf of Aden . The group claims the move is a necessary response to the naval blockade imposed on Yemen and reserves the right to take all possible measures .
The threat follows recent escalation, including the arrival of an Iranian civilian aircraft at Houthi-controlled Sanaa International Airport, which the Saudi-led coalition condemned as a “flagrant violation” of Yemen’s sovereignty . The coalition has vowed to respond “firmly and with unprecedented force” to any attacks on Saudi Arabia . Saudi Arabia has not yet issued an official response to the Houthi warning.
