In a statement signed by acting Foreign Minister Riyadh Yassin issued on Saturday, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs stated that Yemen has banned entry into the territorial waters and has authorized coalition countries to implement the decision, saying the ban has been imposed on all of the country’s maritime zones.

"All commercial and military vessels cannot enter the designated zones without getting permission from the legitimate Yemeni government. The permitted ships will be subject to inspection prior to heading to Yemeni ports," added the statement.

Acting Foreign Affairs Minister Riyadh Yassin told the Saudi-owned Al-Arabiya Al-Hadath news agency on Saturday that the decision came after several attempts by an unidentified government, likely a reference to Iran, to smuggle military assistance to the Houthi forces and their allies. 

"The Houthis are receiving military assistance through the maritime zones," Yassin told the channel.

Hadi appointed Yassin as the acting minister of foreign affairs after the Yemeni government, headed by Khalid Bahah, resigned on Jan. 21.

Yahia Abas, deputy head of the Board of Directors of Yemen Red Sea Ports Corporation, told several local media outlets on Saturday that the battleships of Saudi-led coalition forces prevented six ships carrying wheat, rice, and other consumables as well as diesel, from entering the western port of Hodeida.

However, Yassin stressed that ships carrying relief aid, food or medicine will be allowed to enter territorial waters after passing inspection.

The Yemen Times tried to contact Mohammed Al-Bukhaiti and Ali Al-Qahoom, members of the Houthi Political Office, to get a comment on the military assistance they get from Iran but got no response.

The Saudi-led Operation Decisive Storm began in Yemen on March 26 based on a request from Hadi to resist what he called "Houthi expansion".