Ansarullah threatens to target Saudi-led coalition’s warships, oil tankers

Yemen’s Ansarullah movement has threatened that it could strike warships and oil tankers of the Saudi-led coalition in retaliation for the blockade the military alliance has imposed on the Yemeni ports, particularly the Southwestern Port of Hudaydah.

“The battleships and oil tankers of the aggression and their movements will not be safe from the fire of Yemeni naval forces if they are directed by the senior leadership (to attack),” Yemen's Arabic-language al-Masirah television network quoted an Ansarullah military commander as saying on Sunday.

According to the news channel, the decision on targeting enemy vessels was made after a meeting of naval officials who had discussed the possible response to the closure of ports in the impoverished country.

Back in September, Abdel-Malek al-Houthi, the Leader of the movement, said that his fighters could target Saudi oil tankers should the invading alliance attack the vital port of Hudaydah.

Meanwhile, the Head of Ansarullah Supreme Revolutionary Committee, Mohammed Ali al-Houthi, also said that his fighters would target oil installations in Saudi Arabia with missiles if the coalition attacked Hudaydah.

On November 4, the Saudi military announced that it had intercepted a missile launched by Ansarullah over an airport near the Saudi capital, prompting Riyadh to close all land, air and sea ports in Yemen. The strike appeared to be the deepest yet within the Saudi territory.

The Saudi-led coalition further alleged that Iran had been behind the strike through its support of the Ansarullah fighters, saying it could be “considered as an act of war.” Iran was quick in dismissing the Saudi allegations as a “lie,” saying Riyadh was resorting to “destructive, irresponsible, provocative and baseless” allegations after failing to achieve its “ominous aims” in Yemen.

ME