The Houthis, an Iranian-backed terrorist group based in Yemen, declared a seaborne blockade of Saudi Arabia, escalating rising tensions in a front that had gone mercifully quiet during recent upheavals around Iran.

The Houthis and the Saudi-backed anti-Houthi coalition have been largely at peace since a ceasefire was agreed upon in 2022, though Saudi Arabia has restricted trade to Houthi-controlled areas. The current crisis began last week when either Saudi or anti-Houthi Yemeni air forces bombed Sanaa Airport in an attempt to prevent the landing of a Houthi delegation that was returning from Iran after attending the funeral of former Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. The Houthis immediately blamed Saudi Arabia directly and retaliated with targeted strikes against the kingdom’s Abha International Airport.