ADEN (Reuters) – Yemen’s Iran-aligned Houthis said on Monday that they would ban Israeli maritime navigation in the Red Sea, adding to challenges for global shipping through the Middle East during the Iran war.
The group said in a statement it had launched an attack on Israel and enacted a total ban on Israeli shipping in the Red Sea, warning of further escalation.
Houthi attacks on Red Sea shipping may worry energy markets more than three months into Iran’s closure of the Strait of Hormuz, and with the war reigniting overnight.
A Houthi source told Reuters that preventing Israeli ships from transiting the Red Sea was a first step, and that further escalation could lead it to stop the passage of any ships bound for Israel as well as other measures.
Houthi attacks on Red Sea shipping during the two-year Gaza war that began in October 2023 led major companies including Maersk and Hapag-Lloyd to divert around Africa – a far longer, more expensive route.
During that period, Houthi attacks on what the group called Israeli-linked vessels were expanded to include any shipping companies that used Israeli ports.
The impact of any sustained threat to Red Sea shipping could be bigger now, however, given the closure of the Strait of Hormuz.
Most Gulf energy production has been unable to leave the region since the war began on February 28. However, significant volumes of Saudi crude have been transported by pipeline to its Red Sea export terminal at Yanbu.
The United Arab Emirates has also managed to export some crude from Fujairah, which lies outside the Strait of Hormuz, though there have been Iranian attacks on this terminal as well.
