Pakistan, July 23 -- Pakistan on Wednesday warned it could use force to protect its maritime interests if its vessels came under attack, while reaffirming its support for Saudi Arabia and condemning threats by Yemen's Houthi movement against the Kingdom and commercial shipping in the Red Sea.

The unusually strong statement comes as the Iran-aligned Houthis threaten Saudi-linked shipping in the Bab Al-Mandab Strait, a narrow waterway linking the Red Sea to the Gulf of Aden, raising fears that the ongoing US-Iran conflict could spread beyond the Strait of Hormuz and disrupt yet another global energy corridors.

For Pakistan, which relies on the Red Sea route for Saudi oil imports after the closure of the Strait of Hormuz, any disruption co...