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Iran-backed Houthi rebels have renewed their attacks on the Yemeni government-held city of Mokha, a key port city along the Red Sea, amid their blockade on Saudi exports in response to the Iran war.
The attack was preceded by a deadly strike on a vessel off Mokha’s coast in the Bab el-Mandeb Strait, killing three Pakistani nationals and one Indonesian national on Tuesday, Yemeni authorities said. Yemen’s Transportation Ministry said three missiles struck the commercial vessel.
The United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations confirmed the attack, which it said authorities were investigating.
These are the first deaths reported following a Houthi attack on shipping in the strait since the militants deployed their blockade last month in response to what they described as a Saudi siege. Attacks across Yemen have also left dozens of government troops and civilians dead since last week, Yemen’s military stated.
The Saudis have denied any siege on the Houthis.
Houthi spokesperson Mohammed Abdul-Salam accused Saudi Arabia of violating the ceasefire between both countries, but wrote on the social platform X that the rebels “have never closed the door to dialogue and negotiation.”
The Houthi capture of Yemen’s capital in September 2014 led to Saudi Arabia intervening in the Yemeni civil war the following year, Al Jazeera reported. Hundreds of thousands died before a deadlock in fighting led to a ceasefire deal in April 2022.
The Houthis in March warned against further aggression from the U.S., Israel and Persian Gulf countries toward Iran, calling for diplomacy and a path toward Palestinian self-determination in Gaza and the West Bank.
President Trump warned that he would blame Houthi attacks on Iran and hold the Islamic regime responsible.
The Houthis set up the blockade in the Red Sea after Iran shut down the Strait of Hormuz, where roughly 20 percent of the world’s oil and gas is exported. The closure of the strait has resulted in gas prices soaring globally, though the U.S. national average has dipped down to $4.01 after a lull in fighting between the U.S. and Iran, according to AAA’s data on Tuesday.
The Associated Press contributed.
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