Sanaa, July 24 -- Iran's Yemen-based Houthi militia on Friday clarified that it was not seeking to shut the Bab el-Mandeb Strait to international shipping, insisting that its newly announced maritime blockade was aimed solely at Saudi Arabia.
Mohammed Abdusalam, the group's chief negotiator, said all reports suggesting the strategic waterway had been closed or would be closed were false.
"There is no closure of Bab el-Mandab as some are suggesting," Abdusalam wrote on X, adding that the Houthis' actions were "limited to a maritime blockade that only affects the Saudi side."The statement came just days after the Islamist group announced a maritime blockade against Riyadh and claimed responsibility for carrying out attacks on two Saudi oil ...