New Delhi, Aug. 11 -- ABDUL-MALIK AL-HOUTHI does not mince his words. On July 16th the leader of the Houthis, a Shia militia that controls most of north-west Yemen, vowed a ruthless campaign against Saudi Arabia, his long-time foe. "The equation will be airports for airports, ports for ports, a blockade for a blockade," he said in a broadcast. The Houthis quickly made good on the threat. Over the past couple of weeks the group has hit Saudi-linked tankers in the Red Sea and oil facilities in Jizan and Yanbu on the kingdom's west coast. Shipping through the Bab al-Mandab strait, at the mouth of the sea, has fallen to its lowest level in months.

When the Houthis targeted ships during Israel's war in Gaza between 2023 and 2025, traffic thro...