Houthis declare 'blockade for blockade' on Saudi, assure US ships are safe

Houthis declare 'blockade for blockade' on Saudi, assure US ships are safe

The Houthis have declared what they call an "equation of blockade for blockade and escalation for escalation", vowing that Riyadh will face consequences for restrictions imposed on Yemen.

Mahdi al-Mashat, who heads the group's Supreme Political Council, said in a televised address that Yemen was pressing ahead to end the Saudi campaign and the blockade, reopen its airports and seaports, recover national resources, and secure compensation.

He said shipping and international commerce passing through the Red Sea and Bab al-Mandab faced no threat from Yemen, with Saudi vessels the sole exception.

Separately, Houthi political bureau member Mohamed al-Bukhaiti said in an interview with the Associated Press on Sunday that the group had given the Trump administration assurances it would not strike American ships in the Red Sea.

He said Washington had contacted Houthis following their swift push along Yemen's western coastline towards the Bab al-Mandab Strait earlier this month.

Only Saudi Arabia was being targeted in the waterway, al-Bukhaiti affirmed.