Yemen’s Iran-backed Houthi rebels on Monday announced a maritime embargo of their foe Saudi Arabia, after the pair traded fire last week for the first time in years.
The rebels “declare a maritime embargo against the criminal Saudi enemy, based on the equation of ‘an eye for an eye,’ effective immediately upon the issuance of this statement,” military spokesman Yahya Saree said.
This announcement follows an escalation in Yemen last week, after Saudi Arabia carried out strikes on the Houthi-controlled Sana’a airport’s runway to prevent an Iranian plane from landing.
Yemen’s Defense Ministry, backed by Saudi Arabia, said its “patience has run out” and threatened to respond to any Iranian and Houthi violations of Yemen’s airspace. The Ministry added the operation was intended to stop what it described as a violation of Yemeni sovereignty by an Iranian flight.
The plane was seeking to reach territory controlled by the Iran-backed Houthi movement, it added. The strike had turned the dispute into a direct contest over Yemen’s airspace.
The Yemeni Armed Forces sent a stern warning to Iran, vowing severe consequences in response to Tehran’s violation of Yemen’s airspace and sovereignty.
In response, the Iranian plane diverted to Hodeidah Airport in Yemen, a further indication of Iran’s determination to send a message that it still exerts control in the country.
The Houthis accused Saudi Arabia of carrying out the attack, declaring that the strike ended a period of relative de-escalation and warning that it would not go unanswered.
“The Aggression Alliance committed a major mistake by targeting a civilian airport without any justification, and it is a war crime,” Sana’a International Airport Director Khaled Al-Shayef said, according to the Houthi-owned Yemeni TV channel Al-Masirah.
The strike marked another escalation in Yemen’s frozen civil war, which has remained somewhat dormant since the fall of the UAE-backed Southern Transitional Council to Saudi-backed forces in January of 2025. It also ties Yemen even closer to the broader Iran–Saudi Arabian confrontation. (AFP/EIR)
