Saudi Announces Yemen Ports Blockade, $450 Million Reward for Houti Leaders

A day after Yemen’s Houti rebels launched a missile targeting Riyadh Airport, Saudi-led coalition announced a land, sea and air blockade of Yemen claiming that the missile components had been supplied by Iran.

In addition, the coalition announced a combined reward of US$450 million for the arrest of 40 Houti leaders and Iranian individuals it said were responsible for the missile attack and weapons supplies to the rebels.

A statement from the Saudi-led coalition’s spokesmen said; regarding the missiles launched by the Iranian-controlled Houthi militias on November 4, which targeted the city of Riyadh using a ballistic missile with a range of more than 900 Km and an earlier one in July,  a thorough examination of the debris of the missiles, has confirmed the role of Iran's regime in manufacturing these missiles and smuggling them to the Houthi militias in Yemen for the purpose of attacking the Kingdom.

The Coalition Command considers this a blatant act of military aggression, and could rise to be considered as an act of war against the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.

To address the vulnerabilities in the current inspection procedures that led to the continuation of the supply of ballistic missiles and military equipment to the Houthi militias which enabled them to continue to commit crimes against the Kingdom, the Coalition’s Command has decided to temporarily close all Yemeni ground, air, and sea ports.

These measures will be implemented while taking into consideration the continuation of the entry and exit of humanitarian supplies and crews in accordance with the Coalition’s updated procedures.

The Coalition Command calls upon all relevant parties to adhere to the inspections, entry, and exit procedures to and from Yemeni ports of entry designated by the Coalition that will be announced later.

 All necessary legal steps will be taken against violators of these procedures. The Coalition Command calls upon all civilian and humanitarian crews to avoid areas of combat operations, and ports exploited by the Iranian-controlled Houti militia to smuggle weapons, and areas from which this militia launch its attacks against the Kingdom. The Coalition also calls upon diplomatic missions to avoid areas that are not controlled by the Legitimate Government of Yemen.

The Coalition also announced rewards ranging from US$20 million to US$5 million totaling up to US$450 million for the arrest of 40 Yemeni and Iranian individuals which it believes were behind the missile attacks and weapons supplies to the Houti rebels.