Houthis announce blockade on Saudi Arabia, ramping up Red Sea tensions

The Houthis, the Iran-backed militant group based in Yemen, on Monday announced that they have set up a blockade on Saudi Arabia, ramping up the potential for tensions in the Red Sea.

The Yemeni militia has not offered any specifics on what the blockade will entail, only that it declared a “maritime embargo against the criminal Saudi enemy, based on the equation of ‘an eye for an eye,’ effective immediately,” according to a statement to Reuters.

The Houthis control territory in Yemen that is next to the Bab al-Mandeb Strait, which leads into the Red Sea’s southern end. Closing the strait would cut down the world’s oil supply by 7 percent and leave most Saudi oil exports unable to exit the Middle East, Reuters reported. It would add to the disrupted flow of oil out of the Persian Gulf, which has seen a 10 percent reduction since the war began.

Houthi military spokesperson Yahya Saree said in a televised address the blockade was in response to a “continued Saudi siege” on Yemen, and that militants were ready to meet any Saudi retaliation with “a total and harsh escalation,” according to The New York Times.

Saudi Arabia has diverted 70 percent of its energy exports through the Red Sea. A disruption of the path of transit could become a larger issue for the energy crisis sparked by the U.S.-Israeli conflict in Iran.

The strait has been an alternative route for shipments unable to pass through the Strait of Hormuz, which Iran shut down after hostilities with the U.S. resumed last week. Iran called on the Houthis to block the Red Sea if the U.S. carries out strikes on the Iranian energy infrastructure as the Iran war drags on.

Insurance costs for shipping goods rose Monday following the announcement, insurance industry sources told Reuters. Premiums rose to around 0.75 percent of the value of a ship, up from 0.3 percent on Friday. A small change means extra costs for a seven-day voyage will be hundreds of thousands of dollars.

Closing another commerce route will put more pressure on the global economy, as on-and-off closures of the Strait of Hormuz have caused gas prices to soar. The U.S. national average lowered in recent weeks as the U.S. and Iran came together with an interim deal to lead toward ending the conflict, with the condition of reopening the Strait of Hormuz.

The latest closure has bumped the price up again, bringing the U.S. national average back to over $4 as of Monday, according to AAA.

The Iran war prompted the Houthis to warn the U.S. and its Gulf allies against escalating strikes, or else they would enter the conflict. They called for a diplomatic conclusion to the war and “a cessation of aggression against Muslim countries in Palestine, Lebanon, Iran and Iraq, and the lifting of the unjust siege on Yemen.”

The Houthis previously attacked commercial ships in the Red Sea following the start of the Israel-Hamas War in October 2023, launching more than 100 attacks for the next two years, according to the U.S. Maritime Administration.

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