A vessel transiting from the Suez Canal into the Red Sea. [Getty Images]
A vessel transiting from the Suez Canal into the Red Sea. [Getty Images]

Saudi Arabia is working to form an international coalition to protect merchant vessels after Yemen's Iran-backed Houthi rebels declared a maritime blockade of the Red Sea.

Reuters reported Wednesday, citing sources, that the Saudi government is in talks with dozens of countries about forming the coalition to safeguard ships navigating the Red Sea. Saudi Arabia's International Communication Center did not respond to questions about the coalition.

The move comes amid the Houthis' push to assert control over the Red Sea. The rebels declared a maritime blockade against Saudi Arabia on July 20 and are seeking to impose transit fees on vessels passing through the Bab el-Mandeb Strait, which connects the southern Red Sea to the Gulf of Aden.

The Houthis, who blamed Saudi Arabia for airstrikes on Sanaa airport, followed their blockade declaration by attacking two Saudi oil tankers on Thursday. Saudi Arabia swiftly retaliated with airstrikes on the Houthi-held port of Hodeidah in Yemen, heightening tensions between the two sides.

With navigation through the Strait of Hormuz already disrupted by the war between the United States and Iran, Houthi control over the Bab el-Mandeb Strait would cut off Saudi Arabia's key oil export routes.


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