Saudi Arabia on Monday condemned an announcement by Yemen's Houthis of a maritime blockade of the kingdom, as the Iran-backed rebels threatened the top oil exporter's ability to bypass the Strait of Hormuz.
In a statement, the Gulf monarchy's Foreign Ministry said it "expresses the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia's strongest condemnation of the statements made by the so-called military spokesman of the terrorist Houthi militia ... imposing a maritime blockade on the Kingdom."
It added that Riyadh "continues to support the brotherly Yemeni people and their legitimate government."
Earlier, the Houthis announced a maritime embargo of Saudi Arabia, stepping up the U.S.-Iran war.
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.
