The terrorist Houthi militia speaks of a closure of ports and airports in the territories it controls in Yemen, and in its usual fallacies holds the Kingdom responsible for this alleged blockade. In the context of its escalation, it does not hesitate to say that Saudi ships will be targets and subject to attack, which prompted the Joint Forces of the Coalition to hasten to say that it will protect its commercial ships in the Bab el-Mandeb Strait, and that the response to sources of threats will be firm and strong, and operational measures will be taken and implemented strictly, in accordance with international law and the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea to protect ships.

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Saudi political analysis

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This escalation by the Houthis comes with false justifications and incorrect fallacies, and as part of the Houthi escalation against the Yemeni government and neighboring countries of Yemen. Meanwhile, the Houthi narrative regarding the blockade is misleading, as evidenced by the passage of more than 300 commercial ships to the ports of Hodeidah, Salif, and Ras Issa during the first half of this year, carrying various foodstuffs, goods, fuel, and construction materials, according to the statement issued by the Joint Forces Command of the Coalition. The Houthis, as the statement confirms, are the ones who caused the closure of Sana'a International Airport, and they alone caused the destruction of four aircraft of Yemenia Airways at the airport.

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As for the accusation by the terrorist Houthi organization against the Kingdom of besieging the brotherly Yemeni people, it is cheap talk that contradicts reality. Far and near know that the Kingdom is the first and largest supporter in the world for Yemenis, and that it has placed development and maintaining the stability of the Yemeni economy at the forefront of priorities in relations with the Yemeni Republic, towards improving the lives of brothers in Yemen, supporting the efforts of the Yemeni government to serve the Yemeni people, meeting their needs, and alleviating the suffering of Yemenis under the difficult economic conditions facing their country.

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What refutes the false accusations of the Houthis is that the Kingdom has placed all its capabilities in the service of the Yemeni people, including establishing development projects, supporting the budget of the Yemeni government, providing petroleum derivatives to operate power stations, and others. That is, the suffering of the Yemeni people was not the result of an alleged blockade as the militia promotes, as the ports of Hodeidah, Salif, and Ras Issa are open, and ships enter through them continuously. Moreover, Sana'a Airport was open for transporting passengers through Yemenia Airways, but the Houthis want the transportation to be via Iranian airlines to smuggle weapons and ammunition to prolong their control over the resources of the brotherly Yemeni people.

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These Houthi crimes extend to this terrorist militia preventing the legitimate government from exporting crude oil, which represents nearly 60% of government revenues, by targeting the export port. Thus, they deprived the Yemeni people of their resources to provide the necessary budget to pay salaries and provide oil to operate electricity, in a step that reflects their disregard for the suffering of the people and their need for salaries and electricity. This prompted the Kingdom to support the Yemeni budget to pay salaries and provide the necessary petroleum derivatives for electricity generation and service provision.

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This is some of what can be said about the alleged Houthi accusation against the Kingdom and its threat to ships, while they know for certain that they will not be safe from a firm, strong, and decisive response if they contemplate any aggression targeting Saudi commercial ships.