Saudi Arabia seeks international coalition to protect Red Sea shipping from Houthis, sources say
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A satellite image showing Bab el Mandeb Strait, a key shipping waterway and the gateway to the Red Sea threatened by Yemen’s Iran-aligned Houthi militants.
PHOTO: REUTERS
- Saudi Arabia is working to form an international coalition to protect Red Sea shipping from attacks by the Iran-aligned Houthis.
- The Houthis declared a naval blockade on Saudi Arabia in the Red Sea and have attacked Saudi vessels, prompting Saudi air strikes on Houthi military sites.
- This conflict expands regional tensions involving the US and allies, disrupting energy supplies and raising global oil prices.
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RIYADH - Saudi Arabia is seeking to build an international coalition to protect shipping in the Red Sea from Houthi attacks, two people familiar with the deliberations said on July 29.
The composition of the coalition has not yet been finalised and is being discussed with dozens of countries, the sources said.
The Saudi Centre for International Communication did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
The Iran-aligned Houthis said on July 20 they would impose a naval blockade on Saudi Arabia in the Red Sea in response to what they described as a Saudi siege on Yemen, an allegation Riyadh has denied.
Since then, the Houthis said they have launched attacks on Saudi vessels in the Red Sea.
Saudi Arabia has responded with air strikes on what it said were Houthi military facilities at Yemen’s Hodeidah port used to threaten commercial shipping.
The blockade has opened a new front against the United States and its allies in the wider Iran war, expanding attacks on tankers carrying energy and other supplies to waters beyond the Gulf and pushing oil prices higher. REUTERS