Yemen's Iran-backed Houthis (Ansarallah) announced a two-week pause in Red Sea operations Wednesday (August 1st), after attacks against Saudi tankers last week prompted Riyadh to suspend oil shipments through a key waterway, AFP reported.
"The unilateral suspension of our naval operations is for a limited period," the Houthis said in a statement released by their defence ministry.
The Houthis' Twitter and Facebook accounts said the suspension will last two weeks.
But "it can be renewed and expanded to other fronts if this initiative is well-received and reciprocated", the statement said.
On July 26th, Saudi Arabia said it was temporarily suspending oil shipments through the Bab al-Mandab Strait -- one of the world's busiest shipping lanes -- after two oil tankers operated by Saudi shipping group Bahri were attacked, slightly damaging one vessel.
The Houthis, allied with Iran, control Yemen's capital Sanaa and al-Hodeidah port, the entry point for around three quarters of the country's imports.
The coalition on July 1st paused a ground offensive against al-Hodeidah in a bid to give UN-led peace efforts a chance.
The head of the Houthis' revolutionary council, Mohammed Ali al-Houthi, said Wednesday's offer of a temporary maritime truce came as "support for UN mediation and peace efforts".
UN envoy to Yemen Martin Griffiths has been pushing for a deal which envisions the Houthis ceding control of al-Hodeidah port to a UN-supervised committee.
