Yemen’s Houthis declare naval blockade on Saudi Arabia, widening threat to global oil supplies

Yemen’s Iran-aligned Houthis said Monday they were imposing a naval blockade on Saudi Arabia, a move that opens a new front against the United States in its war on Iran and widens the threat to global energy supplies and trade beyond the Gulf.

Iran had pressed the Houthis to close the Bab el-Mandeb gateway to the Red Sea if the U.S. continued to attack Iranian power infrastructure.

In their statement, the Houthis’ armed forces said they were declaring “a maritime embargo against the criminal Saudi enemy, based on the equation of ‘an eye for an eye’, effective immediately.”

They said the decision was in response to what they called “an unjust and oppressive siege” imposed on Yemen by the Saudis.

There was no immediate response from Saudi Arabia.

The full closure of the Bab el-Mandeb Strait would reduce global oil supply by 7% as it would leave most of Saudi oil exports unable to leave the region. The disruption would add to the massive cut to global oil flows from the war in the Gulf, which has already reduced shipments by 10% of global supply.

Read more: NBC News