Yemen's Houthis declare naval blockade against Saudi Arabia

Adds energy context in paragraphs 5-6, analyst in paragraphs 7-8

By Nayera Abdallah and Timour Azhari

DUBAI, July 20 (Reuters) - Yemen's Iran-aligned Houthis said on Monday they were imposing a naval blockade on Saudi Arabia, a move that threatens to escalate the conflict in the region and disrupt global energy supply and trade beyond the Gulf.

The Houthis' armed forces in a statement said they were declaring "a maritime embargo against the criminal Saudi enemy, based on the equation of 'an eye for an eye', effective immediately".

They said the decision was in response to what they called "an unjust and oppressive siege" imposed on Yemen by the Saudis.

There was no immediate response from Saudi Arabia.

The full closure of the Bab el-Mandeb strait, the southern gateway to the Red Sea, would halt Saudi oil exports to Asia and could reduce global oil supply by 7%.

The Iran war has already triggered a massive cut to global oil flows, lowering global supply by 10%.

"The question now is whether they will begin targeting vessels heading to Saudi ports. At this stage, there’s no clear answer," said Mohammed Albasha, a Yemeni analyst and founder of Basha Report, a Washington-based risk advisory firm.

"Even if no ships are attacked, the announcement alone is likely to disrupt shipping and create uncertainty for Saudi ports. Whether the Houthis move from threats to direct action remains the critical issue," he said.

The group fired missiles at Saudi ​Arabia last week after accusing the kingdom of bombing an airport under their control, piercing a four-year truce in the conflict between ‌the kingdom and the Iran-aligned group.

(Reporting by Timour Azhari and Nayera Abdallah; Editing by Nadine Awadalla, Aidan Lewis and Jason Neely)

((Nayera.Abdallah@thomsonreuters.com;))