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Saudi and Houthi exchanges raise risks to Red Sea shipping route
The escalation follows a Houthi embargo on Saudi shipping that has disrupted maritime traffic through the Bab el-Mandeb Strait, linking Asia and Europe.
Saudi Arabia and Yemen’s Tehran-allied Houthi movement escalated overnight after Riyadh bombed the Yemeni port city of Hodeidah, in retaliation for a Houthi missile strike on a Saudi-linked ship in the Red Sea, according to SCMP Economy.
The exchange adds to tensions since the Houthis, formally known as Ansar Allah, imposed an embargo on Saudi shipping on Monday, disrupting maritime traffic through the Bab el-Mandeb Strait, a key chokepoint connecting Asia to Europe via the Suez Canal.
SCMP Economy said a near-identical Houthi missile attack on an oil tanker owned by the National Shipping Company of Saudi Arabia on Thursday drew threats of possible US military intervention from President Donald Trump.
The Houthis also claimed a missile attack on the southern Saudi city of Jizan on Saturday, after media outlets controlled by the group accused Saudi Arabia of a “dangerous escalation” and said its actions “will not go unanswered.”