Shafaq News- Sanaa

Yemen's Houthi (Ansarallah) movement on Monday imposed a ban on maritime navigation involving Saudi Arabia, warning that any military escalation by Riyadh would trigger a "comprehensive and severe" response.

Military spokesperson Yahya Saree presented the group's "blockade for blockade" strategy, linking the move to Saudi Arabia's continued "unjust and oppressive siege" on Yemenis for nearly 12 years, "plundering our resources and imposing a comprehensive blockade on our ports and airports by land, sea, and air."

بيان القوات المسلحة اليمنية بشأن إعلان الموقف من الحصار السعودي الظالم على شعبنا اليمني العظيم. pic.twitter.com/aIikHk6byf

— العميد يحيى سريع (@Yahya_Saree) July 20, 2026

Urging Yemenis to continue their nationwide mobilization, he called on the public to prepare for "all scenarios and developments" and reinforce frontline positions by joining the fighting.

Earlier this month, the group fired missiles at Saudi Arabia, accusing the kingdom of bombing Sana'a International Airport and violating a four-year truce in the conflict between Riyadh and the Iran-aligned Ansarallah.