Yemen 'prepared for any escalations' with Houthis

RIYADH, Saudi Arabia: Yemen’s internationally recognised government on Monday said it is ready for any escalation with Houthi rebels after the Iran-backed group launched attacks and a maritime blockade targeting Saudi Arabia.

Fears are growing that renewed fighting between Saudi Arabia and the Houthi rebels in Yemen may further destabilise the Arabian peninsula and rattle the region’s precarious fault lines.

“At the end of the day, we are prepared for any escalations,” Yemen’s foreign minister designate Afrah al-Zouba told reporters during a briefing in the Saudi capital Riyadh.

The comments came just hours after the Houthis said they launched fresh drone strikes targeting Saudi Arabian oil infrastructure in response to incursions by the kingdom’s drones.

Al-Zouba said the government was increasingly worried that the rebels were copying Iranian manoeuvres in the Strait of Hormuz to gain control over the Bab al-Mandeb Strait, a crucial passage into the Red Sea off the Yemeni coast.

The narrow waterway has been a critical artery for delivering vast quantities of Saudi crude to the international market, after maritime traffic was largely choked off by fighting in the Strait of Hormuz.

Last week, the Houthis announced a maritime blockade of Saudi Arabia and have claimed attacks targeting Saudi tankers and oil infrastructure in the kingdom.

The “Houthis want to copy the Iran experience in Hormuz,” al-Zouba said, adding the rebels were “in harmony” with Iranian escalation in the region.

“They think they will gain control over the Red Sea,” she added.

Al-Zouba said the situation in Yemen was tense with Houthi forces skirmishing with government troops in several areas across the country daily.

A Saudi-led military coalition had fought against the Houthi rebels in support of Yemen’s internationally recognised government after war broke out in the country in 2015.

The latest flare-up between Saudi Arabia and the Houthis marks the first time in years the two sides have traded blows, threatening a 2022 truce in the previous conflict that has held despite expiring.