DOHA, July 21. /TASS/. Attempts by Yemen's Houthi rebels from the Ansar Allah movement to impose a naval blockade on Saudi Arabia could provoke a forceful military response from Riyadh and lead to the resumption of full-scale hostilities, International Crisis Group Senior Yemen Analyst Ahmed Nagi told TASS.

"The threat is serious, but it does not mean Saudi Arabia will back down. The Saudi-led coalition has already said it will protect vessels transiting the Red Sea, suggesting that any Houthi attack would likely trigger a strong military response," the expert said.

According to Nagi, the parties are hurtling back to the pre-2022 truce situation. "That could push both sides back towards the pre-truce period, with the confrontation extending beyond the maritime domain to include fighting on the ground and renewed cross-border attacks," he explained.

The analyst also pointed to the vague nature of the rebels' statements. "There are no details about what kinds of ships the Houthis intend to target, how they plan to carry out the attacks, or how they would enforce the blockade. The announcement is ambiguous. The Houthis simply declared ‘a maritime embargo on Saudi Arabia' without explaining how they would implement it," he said.

On July 20, the Houthis announced a naval blockade of Saudi Arabia, accusing the kingdom of years of "plundering Yemen's national wealth," referring to the country's oil resources. On July 21, the Riyadh-led Arab coalition said it had begun taking measures to protect commercial vessels in the Bab el-Mandeb Strait. Coalition Spokesman Turki al-Maliki stressed that any threat to shipping would be met "decisively and forcefully," describing the rebels' actions as maritime piracy.