Houthi Rebels Fire Missiles at Saudi Arabia as Trump’s Strait of Hormuz Blockade Threat Looks Like Bluster

[Financial News]  

The Saudi-led coalition in Yemen said on the 13th local time that ballistic missiles had been launched from the Houthi rebels toward southern Saudi Arabia.
Al Jazeera reported that the coalition said it intercepted the missiles.
As the United States and Iran clash again, the conflict is raising the prospect of spreading across the region once more.
The situation in the Middle East around the Gulf region is once again sliding into unpredictable chaos.

The missile launch on this day appeared to be a response to Saudi airstrikes on the Houthi-held capital, Sanaa.
The Houthi rebels released footage showing flames rising at Sanaa International Airport and criticized Saudi Arabia for carrying out the airstrikes.
The Houthi rebels vowed to retaliate by attacking key Saudi infrastructure.
According to local media, Mohammed al-Bukhaiti, a member of the rebels' political bureau, said they would target key Saudi infrastructure in response to the attack on Sanaa airport.

With U.S. President Donald Trump declaring that the ceasefire with Iran is over and the exchange of threats resuming, some observers say it is only a matter of time before the previous memorandum of understanding is scrapped and war restarts.
The New York Times noted that "the United States and Iran are ... inching back toward war."
In a post on his social media platform Truth Social, Trump declared that he would resume a blockade of Iranian ports and coastlines, and that U.S. forces would collect a 20% security transit fee on cargo loaded onto ships in exchange for ensuring the safety of civilian vessels passing through the Strait of Hormuz.
The renewed U.S. blockade and the standoff between the two countries have taken relations back to the period before the memorandum of understanding was signed.

Still, some expect that Trump will not actually restart a war with Iran.
Dania Thafer, secretary-general of the Gulf International Forum, told Al Jazeera that Trump’s remarks about re-blockading the Strait of Hormuz were likely "bluster." She said they amount to loud threats meant to intimidate the other side, without the ability or will to carry them out.
He said Trump’s social media statement falls "within the realm of bluster" when it comes to whether it will remain words or turn into action.
Thafer explained, "This is a kind of Trump-style strategic reciprocity," adding, "If Iran blocks Gulf states, the United States turns around and blocks Iran." She added, "When Iran tries to impose fees or tolls, the United States responds by saying we can do that too."

Thafer said Trump’s latest remarks are likely to raise concerns in the international community.
She stressed, "Not only Gulf leaders but also the international community will raise this issue," adding, "The key point in the discourse surrounding the Strait of Hormuz is that it is an international waterway, and no one actually has control over it."
Trump’s plan to collect transit fees also runs counter to what the U.S. administration has promised.
Earlier, U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio visited the United Arab Emirates (UAE) on the 23rd of last month and said he opposed Iran’s attempt to impose fees on the Strait of Hormuz, stating that "no country can impose tolls or fees on an international waterway."
dympna@fnnews.com Song Kyung-jae Reporter