Houthi military spokesman Sari said the group has adopted three strategies:
retaliatory blockade, strikes on Saudi military concentrations wherever they are
found, and defending Yemeni sovereignty. Since announcing a ban on Saudi
maritime navigation on July 20, the Houthis said they have struck eight Saudi
oil tankers — five in the Red Sea and three in the Gulf of Aden/Arabian Sea —
and prevented 48 Saudi tankers from transiting, forcing them to return (34 in
the Arabian Sea/Indian Ocean, 14 in the Red Sea). He said the Houthis have
conducted nine military operations targeting Yanbu, Najran, Jizan, Abha and
Saudi oil supply facilities, and 14 operations against what they described as
Saudi military concentrations in Ruweik, Ablah, Wadiya, Marib and Mocha. Sari
warned against further Saudi escalation, saying any full-scale escalation will
be met in kind, and called on Riyadh to lift the blockade, end the offensive,
withdraw foreign forces and restore Yemeni control of resources.
