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Yemen's Iran-backed Houthis have sent direct warnings to international shipping companies ordering them to halt all cargo operations at Saudi Arabian ports, raising the prospect of fresh disruption to global trade at one of the world's most critical maritime chokepoints.
The group, which declared a naval blockade of Saudi Arabia on Monday, emailed multiple shipping firms warning that vessels loading or discharging cargo at Saudi ports would face consequences. "Vessels are banned from loading or discharging cargo at or from any Saudi ports," the message stated, adding that any such activity would expose ships to "sanctions" and make them "subject to targeting in any location."
The Houthis framed the blockade as a direct response to an airstrike on Sanaa International Airport, the Houthi-controlled facility in Yemen's capital.
The group announced the embargo on the principle of "an eye for an eye," with military spokesman Yahya Saree declaring "a maritime embargo against the criminal Saudi enemy, based on the equation of 'siege for siege.'"
The airport strike followed a confrontation in which Saudi jets prevented a flight carrying Houthi leaders from landing at Sanaa after they attended the funeral of Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei in Tehran.
The plane was diverted to another Yemeni airport. The Houthis subsequently launched ballistic missiles and drones at Saudi Arabia's Abha International Airport, the most significant cross-border exchange in years.
Houthi leader Mahdi al-Mashat, head of the group's governing body, warned that the airport attack "will not go unanswered" and accused Saudi Arabia of being the force behind a years-long siege on the Yemeni people.
The group called on Riyadh to lift what it described as "an unjust and oppressive siege" imposed on Yemen by land, sea and air since 2015.
The blockade threatens the Bab el-Mandeb Strait, the narrow waterway connecting the Red Sea to the Gulf of Aden, which serves as a critical artery for Saudi oil exports.
The strait has taken on added strategic importance since the effective closure of the Strait of Hormuz amid the ongoing US-Iran conflict.
With Hormuz largely blocked, Riyadh had been routing oil exports westward via a Red Sea pipeline, the route now at risk from the Houthi action.
A full closure of the Bab el-Mandeb would force shipping firms to divert vessels around the Cape of Good Hope off South Africa, a rerouting that US government estimates suggest adds roughly 2,700 miles, or about 4,345 kilometers, to the journey from Saudi Arabia to the United States.
The Houthis have a track record of disrupting Red Sea shipping, having launched sustained attacks on commercial vessels following the outbreak of the Gaza conflict in 2023 before halting operations after a ceasefire was declared last October.
Saudi Arabia condemned the Houthi action, with the Foreign Ministry rejecting the group's characterization of a Saudi siege on Yemen and pledging to take "all necessary measures" to protect its ships.
The Saudi-led coalition said it would respond to the Houthis with force and announced it had begun implementing protection measures for vessels moving through the Bab el-Mandeb.
The Houthi military warned that any full-scale Saudi escalation would be met in kind.
"If Saudi Arabia turns to all-out aggression against Yemen, all of Saudi Arabia's energy facilities and its vital facilities will be targets for missiles and drones," spokesman Saree declared.
Oil prices rose briefly following the Houthi announcement before easing as traders held out hope for a diplomatic breakthrough.
Iran's Foreign Ministry signaled that mediators had presented proposals to Tehran, suggesting diplomatic contacts remain active, though no details were provided.
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