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Further military escalation against the Houthis would come at a high cost, pushing Saudi Arabia's economy to the brink of collapse, Yemen's Deputy Foreign Minister Abdulwahid Abu Ras warned Monday.
"The 'blockade for blockade' equation remains in place and has proven its effectiveness, and further escalation will be the final nail in the coffin of the Saudi economy," Abu Ras said, according to the statements carried out by Iranian Tasnim News Agency.
Abu Ras argued that Saudi Arabia had previously "bet on the United States and lost," adding that relying on its proxies would inflict even greater losses. He maintained that Washington failed to achieve its objectives in Yemen despite deploying its full capabilities and accused Riyadh of refusing to learn from that outcome.
Mohammed Al-Farah, a member of the Houthi political bureau, urged Saudi Defense Minister Khalid bin Salman to lift the Saudi-led blockade on Yemen, arguing that ending the restrictions would be the quickest way to de-escalate the conflict.
"The closest and least costly solution for you is to lift the blockade on Yemen and stop the aggression against it," he said.
Abdullah Al-Nuami, another member of the Houthi political bureau, accused Saudi Arabia of continuing to evade responsibility for the blockade despite maintaining communications with Yemen.
"The problem is that Saudi Arabia has no serious intention of taking its hands off the Yemeni people," he said. "Yemen is moving forward under the equations of 'escalation for escalation' and 'blockade for blockade,' and the ball is now in Saudi Arabia's court."
He added that the Houthis were fully prepared to respond to any escalation by Saudi Arabia, whether carried out directly or through allied forces inside Yemen.
Tasnim reported that Yemeni sources warned Saudi Arabia's critical oil infrastructure would no longer be off limits if Riyadh continued its military campaign and blockade. The sources claimed future operations could expand from refinery ports to major oil fields, including Abqaiq, Khurais and Shaybah.
The Houthis declared a maritime blockade targeting Saudi-linked shipping last week, launched missile and drone attacks on Saudi Aramco facilities in Jizan and Yanbu, and threatened to tighten pressure on the kingdom's energy exports.
Saudi-led coalition forces responded with airstrikes on Houthi military sites in Hodeidah governorate, saying the targets were being used to threaten commercial shipping, while Houthi media reported strikes on Hodeidah city and Kamaran Island.
The same Yemeni sources claimed measures against Saudi-linked shipping would extend beyond the Red Sea into the Arabian Sea and as far as the Indian Ocean, the report added.
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