REPUBLIKA.CO.ID,DUBAI -- A Saudi-led military coalition will temporarily close all air, land and sea ports to Yemen to stem the flow of arms to Houthi rebels from Iran, it said in a statement on Monday carried by the state news agency SPA.

The move, which follows the interception of a missile fired towards Riyadh on Saturday, is likely to further worsen Yemen's humanitarian crisis, which has pushed some seven million to the brink of famine and left more than half a million infected with cholera, according to the United Nations.

"The Coalition Forces Command decided to temporarily close all Yemeni air, sea and land ports," the statement on SPA said, adding that aid workers and humanitarian supplies would continue to be able to access and exit Yemen.

The United Nations and international aid organisations have repeatedly criticised the coalition in the past for blocking aid access, especially to the north, which is held by the Iran-aligned Houthi rebels battling the Saudi-led coalition.

Saudi Arabia and its Gulf Arab allies have made clear they view Iran as mainly responsible for the Yemen conflict, in which more than 10,000 people have been killed in the past two years.

Saudi Foreign Minister Adel al-Jubeir said on his Twitter account on Monday that his country reserved the right to respond to what he called Iran's "hostile actions". Bahrain's Foreign Minister Sheikh Khaled bin Ahmed al-Khalifa also tweeted that Iran was the real danger to the region.

On Sunday the coalition accused the Houthis of "dangerous escalation (which) came because of Iranian support" after Saudi air defences intercepted the ballistic missile heading towards Riyadh. It was brought down near Riyadh airport without causing any casualties.

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