Yemen's Iran-aligned Houthis announced Monday they are imposing a naval blockade on Saudi Arabia, escalating regional tensions and widening the threat to global energy supplies and trade beyond the Persian Gulf. The move opens a new front against the United States in its ongoing conflict with Iran.
The Houthis' armed forces stated they were enacting a "maritime embargo against the criminal Saudi enemy, based on the equation of ‘an eye for an eye’, effective immediately…" The group indicated this decision was a response to what they described as an "unjust and oppressive siege" imposed on Yemen by Saudi Arabia.
Satellite imagery shows the Bab el-Mandeb Strait, a key shipping waterway and the gateway to the Red Sea.
The full closure of the Bab el-Mandeb strait, a crucial maritime route, could reduce global oil supply by an estimated 7% by impeding most Saudi oil exports from leaving the region. This potential disruption adds to already significant cuts in global oil flows resulting from the war in the Gulf, which have already reduced shipments by 10% of global supply.
Iran had previously urged the Houthis to close the Bab el-Mandeb strait if the U.S. continued to attack Iranian power infrastructure. The Houthis' announcement coincides with diplomatic efforts aimed at restoring a ceasefire and salvaging a fragile interim agreement signed last month.
A senior Iranian official reported that mediators have presented Tehran with a proposal for a 10-day ceasefire, intended to lay the groundwork for a lasting resolution to the conflict that began on February 28 with U.S.-Israeli attacks on Iran. Oil prices saw a brief surge above $90 a barrel earlier on Monday due to renewed disruptions in the Strait of Hormuz, before paring gains after Iran's Foreign Ministry acknowledged the ongoing diplomatic contacts.
Separately, Iranian Interior Minister Eskandar Momeni reportedly asked Pakistan to resume its mediation role in the conflict between Iran and the United States during a visit to Islamabad. This diplomatic activity follows claims by Iran's Revolutionary Guards that they had struck U.S. military assets across the region in retaliation for U.S. bombardment of Iranian cities.