When Yemen’s Houthis threatened a “maritime embargo” on Saudi ports last week, the risk of war returning to the Arabian Peninsula - and of Bab al-Mandeb becoming the second major oil chokepoint under threat - suddenly became real.
The escalation began after Saudi Arabia attacked Yemen’s Sanaa International Airport more than two weeks ago, potentially pulling the country deeper into the expanding US-Israeli war on Iran.
The attack followed the Houthis’ decision to reopen Sanaa airport to direct flights from Iran.
These would have been the first such flights since 2015. Riyadh would have viewed them as a major red line and a sign of growing Iranian influence, potentially including the direct transfer of weapons.
“But just as direct Sanaa-Iran flights were a red line for the Saudis and its allied Yemeni government, the attack on Sanaa international airport was a red line for the Houthis,” Hamish Kinnear, principal analyst for the Middle East and North Africa at global risk analyst Maplecroft, told Middle East Eye.
