On 18 August, Saudi-led coalition forces seized a Yemeni oil tanker ship in the Red Sea preventing it from reaching the port of Hodeidah.

The spokesman of the Yemen Petroleum Company (YPC), Issam al-Mutawakil said the US-led coalition seized the diesel ship “Golden Eagleii” despite it having UN authorization to enter the port.

Al-Mutawakli condemned the silence of UN envoy Hans Grundberg in stopping such violations. He also slammed the lack of fulfillment in allowing the oil tankers to enter the port and said the Saudi-led coalition refuses to fully commit to the terms of a truce brokered by the UN.

The latest ship seizure comes on the heels of revelations made by Yemen’s former Foreign Minister, Abu Bakr al-Qirbi, who said that a French special forces arrived in Yemen’s Shabwah province to take control of a vital gas production facility.

Since the start of the truce in April, Riyadh’s coalition has been accused of plundering $919.6 million worth of Yemen’s crude oil and natural gas revenues.

In the face of this looting campaign, the head of Yemen’s Supreme Political Council, Mahdi al-Mashat warned on 15 August that Yemeni missiles are capable of destroying any target inside Saudi Arabia or the UAE.

“All your US-made defensive weaponry will not help you confronting the mighty power of the Yemeni missile and drone attacks,” Al-Mashat said.

Al-Mashat also cautioned the Saudi-led coalition against the constant looting of the Yemenis natural resources, saying “the Yemeni people will not keep quiet about it.”

On 2 April, the conflicting parties reached a truce agreement mediated by the UN, and for an initial two months. It has been renewed twice since then.

Saudi Arabia, leading a coalition of nine countries, launched an intervention in Yemen in response to calls from ousted president Abdrabbuh Mansur Hadi for military support after Ansarallah forces seized the presidential palace in 2015.