In a statement, the ministry denounced Saudi Arabia for using mercenaries to occupy Yemeni territory, killing civilians and destroying infrastructure through airstrikes, while continuing its “unjust blockade.”
The ministry said Saudi Arabia’s actions include deploying mercenaries to occupy Yemeni territory, killing civilians, destroying infrastructure through airstrikes and maintaining what it described as an “unjust blockade.”
The ministry said Saudi fighter jets carried out 54 airstrikes over the past 24 hours using F-15 and Typhoon aircraft launched from the Khamis Mushait and Taif air bases.
The strikes targeted the provinces of Taiz, Lahj, Jawf, Marib and Hajjah, it said.
The ministry rejected Saudi claims that the Bab el-Mandeb Strait is unsafe, describing them as an attempt to mislead the international community.
The statement also rejected claims that Sanaa’s accusations of Saudi military support for mercenaries were unsubstantiated, saying statements by the leaders of those forces had confirmed its account.
The ministry further asserted that the Yemeni government has the “full and legitimate right” to target hostile Saudi movements and mercenaries.
It said those forces do not represent Yemen and receive their orders from a foreign country.
“If the world wants stability and calm in the region, it should tell Saudi Arabia to stop interfering in Yemen’s affairs,” the ministry concluded.
As western reports indicated, the Ansarullah forces have seized the strategic Greater and Lesser Hanish islands in the Red Sea as part of its advance along Yemen’s Red Sea coast, following the capture of the port of Mokha and Perim island in the Bab el-Mandeb Strait.
The islands are about 160 kilometers north of the strait, a key maritime chokepoint linking the Red Sea with the open ocean and an important route for Saudi oil shipments to Asian markets.
Western media coverage has largely focused on the implications of developments around the Bab el-Mandeb for shipping security, Saudi oil exports and global energy markets, while giving less prominence to the humanitarian consequences of the Saudi war and blockade for Yemenis.
Separately, concerns over disruptions to Saudi oil exports have added to broader fears of pressure on global energy supplies.
Research company Rystad Energy said an average of 2.6 million to 4 million barrels of oil per day had moved through Saudi Arabia’s East-West pipeline and out of the port of Yanbu since late August, a volume it said was now at risk of “disappearing from the market.”
Janiv Shah, vice-president of oil markets for Rystad Energy, said the recent rise in Brent prices showed that the market was already responding to “a significant loss of supply.”
Saudi inventories could sustain exports in the coming days, Shah said, but that situation could “change quickly.”
Tim Waterer, chief market analyst at KCM Trade, said: “The big question for traders right now is the duration of the east-west outage. Any prolonged disruption and the associated supply loss could easily push prices to the next level higher.”
On Tuesday morning, Brent crude rose 1.17% to $106.92 a barrel.
The average US diesel price reached $6 per gallon for the first time last week, as the war on Iran, combined with Ukrainian attacks on Russian refineries, squeezed supplies.
Since the US war on Iran began in February, countries have released part of their crude stockpiles onto the market, while the United States also lifted restrictions on oil stored aboard ships at sea from sanctioned countries.