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RIYADH, Saudi Arabia — Yemen is worried that Houthi rebels are trying to emulate Iran's attempts to control the Strait of Hormuz, a senior official said Monday.
Yemen’s foreign minister designate Afrah Al Zouba said the government was increasingly worried that the Tehran-backed rebels were copying Iranian manoeuvres in the Strait of Hormuz to gain control over the Bab al-Mandeb Strait, a crucial passage into the Red Sea off the Yemeni coast.
The "Houthis want to copy the Iran experience in Hormuz," Al Zouba told reporters during a briefing saying the Tehran-backed rebels were "in harmony" with Iranian escalation in the region.
The comments came just hours after the Houthis said they launched fresh drone strikes targeting Saudi Arabian oil infrastructure in response to incursions by the kingdom's drones.
The narrow waterway has been a critical artery for delivering vast quantities of Saudi crude to the international market, after maritime traffic was largely choked off by fighting in the Strait of Hormuz.
Last week, the Houthis announced a maritime blockade of Saudi Arabia and have claimed attacks targeting Saudi tankers and oil infrastructure in the kingdom.
"They think they will gain control over the Red Sea," she added.
al-Zouba said that Yemen's internationally recognised government is ready for any escalation with Houthi rebels.
"At the end of the day, we are prepared for any escalations," Al Zouba said.
Al Zouba said the situation in Yemen was tense with Houthi forces skirmishing with government troops in several areas across the country daily.
A Saudi-led military coalition had fought against the Houthi rebels in support of Yemen's internationally recognised government after war broke out in the country in 2015.
