Houthi Saudi-port blockade diverts six ships

Shafaq News- Sanaa

Six commercial vessels turned back in the Red Sea over the past 24 hours after Yemen’s Houthis (Ansarallah) threatened to target ships violating their newly declared maritime blockade on Saudi Arabia, Houthi-affiliated media, citing a military source, reported on Tuesday.

The blockade, announced on Monday, bars international shipping companies from loading or unloading cargo at Saudi ports. The Houthis have not explained how they intend to enforce the measure.

Yemen’s Presidential Leadership Council Chairman Rashad Al-Alimi pledged to prevent the Houthis from dragging the country into further escalation. Information Minister Muammar Al-Eryani dismissed the move as a unilateral Houthi decision, arguing on X that it reflected an “attempt to lend a local cover to an escalatory decision taken in Tehran,” rather than a response to what the group describes as a siege.

● The Houthi militia's attempt to portray its escalation as a response to the will of Yemenis or an expression of their suffering represents a blatant inversion of the facts; for Yemenis have not demanded the closure of maritime passages, nor the expansion of the circle of war,… https://t.co/oHaHTuQoTb

— معمر الإرياني (@ERYANIM) July 21, 2026