Houthis Announce Blockade of Saudi Ships

The Iran-backed Houthi militants in Yemen announced today that they were closing the Red Sea to ships from Saudi Arabia.

The Houthis have repeatedly threatened to close the Bab el-Mandeb Strait during the U.S.-Iran war. The strait is a choke point for commercial ship traffic that connects the Red Sea to the Gulf of Aden and global markets.

The militants, in a statement carried by state news, accused the Saudis of laying an “aggressive siege” against them. Tensions escalated last week after they claimed that Riyadh had bombed Sanaa International Airport.

It’s actually a bit confusing why the Houthis took this action today. Iran had apparently asked the Houthis to prepare to close this strait if U.S. bombs continued to strike Iran’s power grid.

Three sources told Reuters on July 16 that Iran has instructed Yemen’s Houthis to close the Red Sea to shipping if the US attacks Iran’s power network, which President Donald Trump threatened to do in a July 14 interview. A source close to the Houthis added that the Iran-backed terror group has placed drones and missiles in position to attack vessels in the Bab al Mandeb Strait, the chokepoint at the southern end of the Red Sea. The Houthis refrained from attacking commercial shipping earlier in the US-Israeli conflict with Iran.

However, today’s announcement seems focused on Saudi Arabia and is apparently meant as payback for an attack on Sanaa airport.

The militants, in a statement carried by state news, accused the Saudis of laying an “aggressive siege” against them. Tensions escalated last week after they claimed that Riyadh had bombed Sanaa International Airport.

The attack on the airport led to massive, militant rallies in Yemen.

Thousands of Houthi supporters rallied in Sanaa against what they described as the Saudi-led blockade against Yemen.

It comes just days after the Houthis blamed Saudi Arabia for the Sanaa airport strike and retaliated with missiles targeting Abha International Airport. pic.twitter.com/IO6NwJLSrR

— Al Jazeera English (@AJEnglish) July 17, 2026

However, while the Houthis blamed the Saudis for that attack Yemen’s own government (the non-Houthi part) took credit for that attack. So did the Houthis get this wrong or do they just not care?

Saudi oil has been cut off from passing through the Strait of Hormuz so the Saudi’s moved most of their oil shipping to their own west coast along the Red Sea. But shutting down the Bab al Mandeb Strait would make it more difficult for them to ship oil south.

Additionally, Iran appears to have struck a Saudi tanker in the Strait of Hormuz today.

BREAKING: Footage shows a Saudi commercial vessel on fire in the Strait of Hormuz after Iran’s IRGC struck it while it attempted transit through the Omani side.

This comes about an hour after the Houthis announced a full naval blockade on Saudi Arabia. pic.twitter.com/Useug7UpeG

— The Hormuz Letter (@HormuzLetter) July 20, 2026

The potential is there for another big jump in oil prices. 

If the Houthis were to successfully block the Red Sea route, that would reduce global oil supply by 7 percent at a time when the closure of the Strait of Hormuz has already halted 10 percent of global oil shipments…

The average price of gas in the United States hit $4 a gallon on Monday, the second time it has reached that mark since the war disrupted global oil supplies, according to AAA data. Gas prices last reached that price on March 31, a month into the war.

The price of oil also briefly rose above $90 a barrel on Monday for the first time since June.

Bottom line: This is officially a response to the Saudis but it looks a lot like an attempt by Iran to further pressure the U.S. to stop the nightly attacks. Will it work (again)? Maybe.

Mediators have passed ‌Iran a proposal to de-escalate the war with ⁠the U.S. that would offer a 10-day ceasefire to find ways to ‌revive ⁠an interim deal reached last month, ⁠a senior Iranian official told ⁠Reuters on Monday.

Editor’s Note: For decades, former presidents have been all talk and no action. Now, Donald Trump is eliminating the threat from Iran once and for all. 

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