The Yemeni Houthis, aligned with Iran, announced on Monday the imposition of a naval blockade on Saudi Arabia, a move that opens a new front against the United States and expands the threat to global energy supplies beyond the Gulf. Iran had pressured the Houthis to close the Bab el-Mandeb strait, the gateway to the Red Sea, if Washington continued to attack Iranian energy infrastructure.
In a statement, the Houthi armed forces declared “a maritime embargo against the criminal Saudi enemy, based on the ‘eye for an eye’ equation,” in response to what they described as an “unjust siege” by Saudi Arabia against Yemen. Riyadh did not immediately respond.
A UN spokesperson warned that the measure raises the risk of an “even broader” regional conflict.
The total closure of Bab el-Mandeb would reduce the global oil supply by 7%, leaving most Saudi exports without an exit from the region, a blow that would be added to the 10% cut already caused by the Gulf War. The price of oil rose briefly following the Houthis’ announcement, although it later gave up some of those gains as traders anticipated a possible diplomatic breakthrough.
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Attacks on civil infrastructure in the Gulf
Vessels near the coast of Bab el-Mandeb, Yemen, the strait that the Houthis are threatening to close after declaring a naval blockade on Saudi Arabia.
The blockade became known at a time when the war is increasingly hitting the region’s civilian infrastructure. Kuwait reported that a desalination plant was attacked on Sunday for the second consecutive day, causing a fire, in what it described as a direct attack against vital civilian infrastructure. These plants supply most of the drinking water in several Gulf countries, one of the most arid regions in the world. Iran, which on Saturday had accused the United States of attacking one of its own desalination plants, had reiterated in the past that it would target such facilities in Gulf countries in retaliation; Washington did not confirm having attacked an Iranian plant.
In the Strait of Hormuz, the Revolutionary Guards (IRGC) claimed that two oil tankers exploded after attempting to transit the waterway via a route they described as “unsafe”—a day after reporting an “accident” involving two vessels in the same area, without it being clear if it was the same incident. Separately, a ship was struck by an unidentified projectile off the coast of Oman, near the strait, according to the British maritime agency UKMTO, which specified that the vessel was left drifting but its crew is safe.
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For its part, the United States Central Command (Centcom) confirmed its ninth consecutive night of strikes against Iran, with the stated goal of “degrading” the Iranian capacity to attack commercial vessels in the strait. In Iran, explosions were reported in Tabriz, Chabahar, Konarak, Bandar Mahshahr, and Bandar Imam Khomeini; at least one person died and several were injured southwest of Tabriz, according to the state agency IRNA. The Revolutionary Guards, for their part, claimed to have attacked with ballistic missiles U.S. aircraft at the Jordanian airport of Aqaba, as well as military assets at the Kuwaiti bases of Al Adiri and Ali Al Salem, and positions in Syria. In Bahrain, sirens sounded throughout the day on Monday, while the Kuwaiti army reported having intercepted Iranian drones once again.
Open diplomacy despite the escalation
U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio warned that his country will continue to attack Iran as long as it continues to attack international shipping. “As long as Iran insists on controlling an international waterway, we are going to have to respond to that. The United States always remains open to a diplomatic solution,” he said. The Iranian Foreign Ministry, for its part, noted that Tehran does not rule out a return to diplomacy either: its spokesman, Esmaeil Baghaei, confirmed that the country received “proposals” from mediators, including one that contemplates a 10-day ceasefire to try to revive the interim agreement reached last month. The conflict, which began on February 28 with attacks by the United States and Israel against Iran, has already left thousands dead, the majority in Iran and Lebanon.
