DUBAI—Yemen's Iran-aligned Houthis said on Monday they were imposing a naval blockade on Saudi Arabia, drawing a warning from the Saudi-led coalition that it would respond "firmly," in a move that threatens to disrupt global energy supplies beyond the Gulf.
The Houthis' armed forces in a statement said they were declaring "a maritime embargo against the criminal Saudi enemy, based on the equation of 'an eye for an eye', effective immediately."
They said the decision was in response to what they called "an unjust and oppressive siege" imposed on Yemen by the Saudis. A full closure of the Bab el-Mandeb strait, the southern gateway to the Red Sea, would halt Saudi oil exports to Asia and could reduce global oil supply by 7 percent.
The Saudi-led coalition in Yemen vowed to respond to the threat to its commercial ships with firmness.
"Such threats are a blatant violation of international law and falls under acts of maritime piracy," the coalition said in a statement.
It said it began implementing protection measures for its ships transiting through the Bab el-Mandeb strait.
The Iran war has already triggered a massive cut to global oil flows, lowering global supply by 10 percent.
"The question now is whether they will begin targeting vessels heading to Saudi ports. At this stage, there’s no clear answer," said Mohammed Albasha, a Yemeni analyst and founder of Basha Report, a Washington-based risk advisory firm.
"Even if no ships are attacked, the announcement alone is likely to disrupt shipping and create uncertainty for Saudi ports. Whether the Houthis move from threats to direct action remains the critical issue," he said.
The group fired missiles at Saudi Arabia last week after accusing the kingdom of bombing an airport under their control, piercing a four-year truce in the conflict between the kingdom and the Iran-aligned group.