Yemen's Houthis say they turned back 6 ships in Red Sea over Saudi-bound maritime ban

ADEN, Yemen — Yemen's Houthi group said it redirected six vessels in the Red Sea over the past 24 hours after announcing a ban on maritime traffic bound for Saudi Arabia. Houthi-linked media, citing a military source, said ships that did not comply with the group's warnings were diverted southward. Rashad al-Alimi, head of Yemen's Presidential Leadership Council, said the Houthis would be prevented from further escalating the situation in the country. Information Minister Muammar al-Eryani wrote on social media that the maritime ban was being presented as an independent decision but was in fact the implementation of a directive from Iran and part of a broader escalation path. The Houthis announced the maritime ban on Monday, timing it with what they described as growing U.S. pressure on Iran and an Iranian strike on U.S. radar and air defense facilities in the Gulf region. The group said the ban would apply to Saudi Arabia's main ports along the Red Sea, extending to the Djiboutian coast. The Houthis have previously targeted shipping in the Bab al-Mandab Strait, which links the Red Sea to the Gulf of Aden, with missiles and armed boats, citing the war in Gaza. The strait sits at the southern entrance to the Red Sea and offers Saudi Arabia an important alternative route to the Strait of Hormuz.