DUBAI (Reuters) - Saudi Arabia’s Energy Minister Khalid al-Falih said on Thursday that the world’s top exporter was “temporarily halting” all oil shipments through Bab El-Mandeb strait immediately, after an earlier attack on two crude vessels by the Iran-aligned Houthi movement.

“Saudi Arabia is temporarily halting all oil shipments through Bab El-Mandeb Strait immediately until the situation becomes clearer and the maritime transit through Bab El-Mandeb is safe,” Falih said in a statement sent by his ministry.