A meeting convened in Riyadh a few days ago aimed at tackling the Houthi threat in Yemen brought together chiefs of staff of "brotherly and friendly nations", as well as a delegation from the European Union. According to the Saudi defence ministry, 14 countries, including Egypt, Türkiye, Pakistan, Qatar and Jordan, announced their support in a joint statement for a proposed alliance intended to strengthen maritime security and safeguard international shipping lanes.
This comes as Houthis have announced what they called a "navigation ban" on Saudi commercial vessels and oil tankers, and have targeted several Saudi assets and vessels in the Red Sea. They insist their actions do not represent a total closure of the Bab al-Mandab Strait and "are confined to a maritime ban targeting the Saudi side alone, in response to its blockade of Yemen and its refusal to accept any equitable approach to a settlement that guarantees the security, sovereignty and independence of the Yemeni people."
But this justification holds little water. The real reason for Houthi attacks and threats against Saudi Arabia is that they are at the behest of Iran and activated whenever tension between the US and Iran escalates. At this point, any claim that Al Houthis make their own decisions and do not follow Iran's orders is laughable, and more of an attempt to absolve the armed Yemeni group of their ideological, political and military subordination to Iran.
Al-Houthi threats have spooked many maritime vessels from attempting to pass through the Bab al-Mandab Strait, amid the unclear and unstable security situation in the vicinity of the Red Sea and Yemeni coast. A disruption to trade in this vital waterway compounds an already dire situation, with traffic in the Strait of Hormuz still facing severe restrictions and difficulties.
Key regional and global players have begun to realise that more decisive action is needed to confront the Houthis, up to "liberating" the capital from their grip and restore the internationally recognised government's control there.
