Houthis | Pakistan

Hostilities in the Middle East flared on Thursday as the Yemen’s Houthis said that they attacked two Saudi Arabian oil tankers in a military operation, while the United States carried out strikes in Iran for a 12th consecutive night. A Saudi news agency confirmed one of the two vessels was ablaze after an assault while sailing in the Red Sea. The Saudi Arabian state news agency SPA, citing an official source at the General Transport Authority, said an attack caused a fire on the bow of the tanker Encelia but all crew members were safe. SPA did not say who had targeted the vessel. Authorities have secured the vessel and its crew and taken measures to protect the marine environment, describing the attack as a violation of international law, SPA reported, citing the source. In their statement, the Houthis said they attacked two tankers, the Encelia and Layla, saying the vessels had violated a naval blockade imposed by the group on Saudi Arabia in the Red Sea. The Houthis said they targeted the tankers with a num...

Pakistan on Wednesday “unequivocally” condemned the recent threats issued by Houthis against Saudi Arabia and commercial shipping in the Red Sea, the Foreign Office said. Islamabad’s statement comes after Yemen’s Houthi rebels, aligned with Iran, announced an immediate maritime embargo on Saudi Arabia, opening a new front in the Middle East conflict. The naval blockade, if enforced, could cut off access to Saudi Arabia’s Red Sea ports, which have been vital for oil exports as renewed US-Iran fighting limits passage through the Strait of Hormuz. It remains unclear how the Houthis would enforce such a blockade. “Threats against commercial shipping and trading with the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia are unacceptable and violate established principles of international law,” the FO said in a statement on Wednesday, noting the “continued threats” by Houthis. Islamabad said it was “particularly concerned by reports of threats directed against vessels engaged in lawful commercial trade” with Saudi Arabia. “Such actions thre...

Houthis open new front in US-Iran war

Yemen’s Houthi rebels announced a maritime embargo of Saudi Arabia on Monday, stepping up the US-Iran war as the rebels threatened the top oil exporter’s ability to bypass the Strait of Hormuz. The group did not say how it planned to impose the embargo, whose declaration came as Iran said it was back to a “full-scale war” with the United States, and as Washington and Tehran battled to control the strait. Saudi Arabia and the Houthis traded fire last week for the first time in years, threatening a 2022 truce that has held despite expiring. The exchange of strikes was set off when an Iranian plane attempted to land in Sanaa, challenging Saudi Arabia’s hegemony over Yemeni skies. The Houthis’ naval blockade, if enforced, could further strain Saudi Arabia’s economy by cutting off access to its Red Sea ports, which have been vital for oil exports as renewed fighting limits passage through the Strait of Hormuz. The blockade is also expected to hurt global markets that rely on Saudi Arabia — which produces over 10 m...

Yemen’s Houthis targeted Saudi Arabia on Monday, hours after the rebels accused the kingdom of attacking Sanaa airport — the biggest flare-up in years between the two sides that threatens to upend a frozen conflict. The Saudi-backed Yemeni government claimed responsibility for the attack on the Houthi-held airport, saying it wanted to prevent an Iranian plane from landing. It came after they failed to convince a Houthi delegation that went to Tehran for the late Iranian supreme leader Ali Khamenei’s funeral to board a flight on domestic carrier Yemenia instead. “Air defences dealt with a ballistic missile threat launched by the terrorist Houthi militia towards the southern region,” coalition spokesman Turki al-Maliki said in a social media post. Earlier, Houthi military spokesman Yahya Saree accused Saudi Arabia of “ending the de-escalation phase” and warned that “this aggression will not go unanswered or unpunished”. The latest escalation threatens to unravel a truce that has been holding since 2022 despite ...

The Houthi rebels, who control swathes of Yemen, have used an array of sophisticated weapons — including ballistic missiles and “kamikaze” drones — in attacks on international shipping in the Red Sea in protest against Israel’s ongoing military onslaught in the Gaza Strip. Attacks on cargo ships and fuel tankers began in November 2023, when Houthi hijacked the Galaxy Leader cargo vessel as it was passing through the southern Red Sea. They redirected it toward Hodeidah port in Yemen and seized the crew. Since then, at least 43 more ships have been attacked in the area, with four seafarers killed and two vessels sunk. The Houthi attacks have disrupted international commerce, forcing international shipping to take the long route around South Africa to avoid being struck. Around 12 per cent of shipping passes through the Red Sea and the increase in delivery costs is stoking fears it could trigger a fresh bout of global inflation. Recent developments between Tel Aviv and Sanaa include the killing of the Houthi gov...