TEHRAN — Hundreds of thousands of residents of Sana’a and surrounding areas gathered in Sab’een Square on Friday amid heavy rainfall, chanting in defense of the resistance and the Yemeni armed forces.

Taking to the streets with the slogans “blockade in response to blockade” and “escalation of attacks in response to escalation of attacks,” they voiced their total support for the continuation of the naval blockade against Saudi Arabia.

The massive public rally followed a major address by Ansarullah leader Sayyid Abdul-Malik Badr al-Din al-Houthi, who declared Thursday that Sanaa will enforce a strict counter-siege until Western-backed aggression against the region is halted.

A unified front

Al-Houthi strongly condemned recent joint U.S.-Saudi airstrikes targeting Popular Mobilization Units bases and Arbaeen pilgrim stations in Iraq, which left dozens dead and wounded.

He classified these strikes as integrated components of “a broader Zionist-American campaign” aimed at constructing a “Greater Israel” and forcibly reshaping West Asia.

The Yemeni leader warned that any Arab collusion with this project constitutes apostasy, emphasizing that Washington views its regional partners with complete contempt.

Citing Donald Trump’s 2016 description of Saudi Arabia as a “milk cow” to be exploited and eventually slaughtered, al-Houthi cautioned that collaborators will be discarded once their geopolitical utility expires.

 Epstein and desecration of sacred symbols

In his address, al-Houthi also raised a religious scandal, exposing that Saudi officials presented a portion of the Holy Kaaba’s Kiswah curtain to convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.

The charge rests on material released by the U.S. Department of Justice. Photographs from the Epstein files show the financier standing beside Emirati executive Sultan Ahmed bin Sulayem, both looking down at a black-and-gold fabric spread across the floor of Epstein’s New York townhouse that closely matches the embroidered Kiswah covering the Kaaba.

Separate emails document the 2017 shipment of three pieces linked to the sacred cloth, arranged through Saudi and UAE contacts and flown from the Kingdom to Florida. The same tranche of files also contains a photograph of Epstein posing with Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman.

Al-Houthi denounced official Islamic institutions for remaining silent over the desecration of the sacred fabric.

The Ansarullah leader also called for the immediate creation of an international Islamic committee to investigate this betrayal of the holy sanctuaries.

Reaffirming Yemen’s solidarity with Gaza, Iraq, and the broader Resistance Front, al-Houthi vowed that Yemen will maintain its naval enforcement until the economic siege on its people and regional allies is completely lifted.

 Economic pressure and Saudi ‘coalition’ failure

The latest escalation began after Saudi forces struck civilian infrastructure at Sanaa International Airport. Ansarullah retaliated by imposing a strict maritime embargo on Saudi commercial shipping through the Bab al-Mandeb strait.

The retaliatory blockade has disrupted energy transit, forcing Saudi oil tankers into lengthy detours around Africa while Yemeni forces maintain direct targeting capability over vital Red Sea shipping lanes.

In response, Riyadh has scrambled to assemble a 50-nation maritime “coalition.” However, the initiative faces major obstacles.

Washington remains hesitant due to domestic political pressure over energy prices and deep internal division within the Pentagon, where Joint Chiefs Chairman General Dan Caine reportedly warned of dwindling missile stockpiles.

Meanwhile, regional countries including Egypt, Oman, and Turkey have hesitated or refused to participate under Saudi command.