RIYADH, July 27 (Reuters) – The Houthi Movement in Yemen is trying to mimic Iran's strategy in the Hormuz Strait by disrupting shipping in the Bab el-Mandeb, according to Yemen's top diplomat. They feel encouraged by a weak international response, the Yemeni Foreign Minister-designate Afrah Al-Zouba shared with reporters on Monday.
Al-Zouba stated, “The Houthis want to follow the Iranian model, which could essentially close off two key straits, the entrances to the Gulf and the Red Sea.” This statement was made at the Yemeni embassy in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.
The Red Sea has become a new battleground in the conflict involving Iran, with the Houthis taking aggressive actions against Saudi Arabia. They have launched missiles and drones at the kingdom and announced a blockade on Saudi shipping.
In response, Saudi Arabia has conducted airstrikes on what they claim are Houthi military targets and pledged to safeguard commercial shipping, accusing the Houthis of serving foreign interests.
This escalation threatens to reignite conflict in Yemen, where a devastating war has already claimed hundreds of thousands of lives since the Houthis took control of the capital, Sanaa, in 2014, leading to Saudi Arabia's intervention with an Arab coalition.
A ceasefire was established in 2022, but recent cross-border incidents have violated that truce. Officials from Saudi Arabia, Western diplomats, and Yemeni authorities now consider the possibility of a return to full-scale war to be more likely than it has been since the ceasefire.
Zouba noted that Yemen's government, which has strong backing from Saudi Arabia, is ready for an escalation. She mentioned that fighting is occurring along the frontline in the northwest of the country, stretching from the Red Sea to the Saudi border, though neither side has launched a major offensive yet.
She concluded, “We believe this conflict needs to come to an end, either peacefully or by other means.”