SANA’A (Dispatches) – Yemen has issued a stark ultimatum to Saudi Arabia and the United Nations, threatening to close the strategic Bab el-Mandab Strait to Saudi shipping if the naval and aerial blockade imposed on the country is not immediately lifted, informed sources have revealed.
According to sources cited by the Lebanese newspaper Al-Akhbar, the Ansarullah movement is actively considering leveraging control of the vital waterway to pressure Riyadh into ending all restrictions on maritime traffic at Yemeni ports. 
The sources confirmed that Yemen has given both the UN and Saudi Arabia a deadline to remove all limitations on maritime movement.
“If Saudi Arabia ignores Yemen’s warning, the country’s armed forces will prevent Saudi vessels from transiting through the Red Sea and the Bab el-Mandab Strait,” the sources warned.
The warning comes following the landing of an Iranian Mahan Air aircraft at Sana’a International Airport on Friday – the first Iranian flight to reach the Yemeni capital in 11 years. 
The plane carried more than 200 Yemeni passengers, including sick and wounded individuals stranded abroad, and later departed for Tehran with an official Yemeni delegation to attend the funeral of the martyred Leader of the Islamic Revolution, Ayatollah Seyed Ali Khamenei.
Khaled al-Shayef, director of Sana’a International Airport, confirmed new arrangements for the resumption of flights, emphasizing that the services between Sana’a and Tehran are fully legal. He noted that the arrangements include plans for new destinations beyond the current Tehran route.
Saudi military spokesman Major General Turki al-Malki issued a statement declaring that Riyadh will counter any attempts to target Saudi territory.  
In response, Jalal al-Roweishan, Yemen’s deputy prime minister for defense and security affairs, vowed to end what he described as Saudi and American “bullying.” Al-Roweishan declared that Yemen will break all restrictions imposed on its maritime and air traffic, emphasizing Sana’a’s full combat readiness for any emergency.
Abdullah al-Nuaimi, a member of Ansarullah’s political bureau, reinforced this position with a stern warning: “Saudi Arabia may decide to enter a new war against Yemen, but it will not be able to stop it, and the situation will spiral out of control.”
The current escalation comes against the backdrop of a stalled political process. Yemen has informed the UN that the current “no war, no peace” condition cannot continue indefinitely. 
Officials have pressed for implementation of previous understandings, particularly on humanitarian files including the full reopening of the airport and ports, while warning that continued stagnation risks a return to open conflict.
Muhammad al-Farah of Ansarullah’s political bureau has stated that Saudi delays on salaries and humanitarian access have ended the viability of prolonged restraint. He warned that any breach of airspace or continuation of the blockade would be met with expanded targeting options, including the closure of Bab el-Mandab to Saudi shipping.