اضغط هنا لقراءة الخبر بالعربية
The Houthi Group on Monday threatened to attack Saudi and UAE ports if Hodeidah seaport in western Yemen is attacked.
Commander of the Houthi coastal defence force, Mohammed Qadri, said: "If the Saudi/UAE-led coalition attacks Hodeidah seaport or disrupts the operations at it, port of Jebel Ali in Dubai and Jeddah port will come under missile attacks," Aljazeera reported.
"Our missiles are capable of striking deep into territories of coalition states," Qadri added.
An Arab military coalition led by Saudi Arabia and the United Arabia Emirates has been fighting the Houthis to restore Yemen's internationally recognised government since March 2015.
In June, the coalition and pro-government forces launched an offensive to retake Hodeidah from the Houthis. They are accusing the Houthis of smuggling Iranian weapons through the city's port.
Meanwhile, an official in the government of President Abdrabbuh Mansur Hadi told AFP that a large-scale assault, within the third stage of the offensive to recapture Hodeidah, has started from several axes.
Coalition warplanes have intensified air strikes on Houthi positions in downtown Hodeidah, the official said, adding that large reinforcements have been deployed to eastern and southern parts of the city.
The coalition argues that recapturing Hodeidah will force the Houthis to come back to the negotiation table.
The Houthis have been controlling the city, which lies around 225 kilometers west of the capital Sanaa, since they ousted the government in late 2014.
"Hodeidah seaport is the bloody lifeline through which food comes into Yemen," Qadri said, warning, "We have not entered naval warfare and have the right to defend ourselves".
The UN and coalition states should know that consequences of naval warfare will not be good and such warfare will affect the whole world, he added, according to Aljazeera.
