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Houthis move to close Bab al-Mandeb to Saudi ships

July 21, 2026

AP News reports the Houthis say the Bab al-Mandeb strait will be closed to Saudi vessels, a step Houthi official Nasruddin Amer announced on X.

AP News reports that the deputy head of the Houthi media office, Nasruddin Amer, said on X that the Bab al-Mandeb strait will be closed to the Saudis, in response to what he called the kingdom's "unjust blockade on Yemenis for over 10 years." Reuters, The New York Times and Al Jazeera corroborate that announcement. Because the account rests on the principal's own statement, independently written up by each carrier, the outlets agree on the substance: the same quote, the same stated justification, no competing versions.

AP News supplies the background. Yemen's civil war began in 2014 when the rebels seized the capital, Sanaa, and much of northern Yemen and forced the government into exile. The Houthis are a crucial part of Iran's so-called "Axis of Resistance," which also includes militant groups in Lebanon, Iraq and the Palestinian territories. On capability, AP News reports that the rebels have held a large stockpile of drones, but several Houthi members previously told the AP the stockpile is running low after its attacks during the Israel-Hamas war.

What is settled: the Houthi announcement itself, its wording and its stated rationale, carried consistently across four outlets. What is not: how a closure of the strait would actually work. AP News notes there were few details on the mechanics, and no outlet yet reports enforcement measures or a timeline.

Still developing

The mechanics of the announced closure remain unconfirmed: AP News notes few details on how the embargo might work, and no outlet reports how, or whether, the Houthis can enforce it given accounts that their drone stockpile is running low.

How settled the reporting is

Reported 46% · Contested 0% · Developing 54%

Sources