Houthis Declare Full Naval Blockade on Saudi Arabia in Red Sea as Hormuz Tensions Rise
Updated
Updated · NBC News · Aug 3
Houthis Declare Full Naval Blockade on Saudi Arabia in Red Sea as Hormuz Tensions Rise
3 articles · Updated · NBC News · Aug 3
Summary
July 20 marked a new escalation when the Iran-backed Houthis declared a complete naval blockade on Saudi Arabia, though they gave no operational details on how it would be enforced.
Bab el-Mandeb is the pressure point behind the threat: Houthi-held territory in Yemen lines the strait at the Red Sea’s southern end, a route Saudi Arabia uses to ship oil to global markets.
The move extends the group’s Red Sea campaign more than a month after it barred all Israeli and Israeli-linked vessels from transiting the waterway and labeled them legitimate military targets.
The blockade threat adds a second maritime risk for energy and trade flows as the United States and Iran remain locked in a struggle over control of the Strait of Hormuz.