Dubai: Saudi Arabia has agreed to open the Red Sea port city of Hodeida for a period of 30 days.

“The port of Hodeida will remain open for humanitarian and relief supplies and the entry of commercial vessels, including fuel and food vessels, for a period of 30 days,” according to the Saudi Press Agency.

UK government officials said ministers had presented operational details to Saudi officials on ships waiting for clearance, and this had helped lift restrictions on three commercial food ships and one fuel ship.

The officials said the first fuel vessel to be cleared to enter Hodeida in over a month was due to dock in the next 24 hours.

Fuel is vital to pump water, transport food and mill grain. Yemen aid agencies on the ground also said they expected shipments to start moving shortly.

Saudi Arabia has repeatedly said Hodeida was being used by Yemeni Al Houthi miltiants to smuggle in weapons from Iran.

Trhee ballistic missiles have been launched—and intercepted—towards Riyadh in the past month.

Saudi Arabia has declared the attacks as “acts of war”.

The Saudis say that Iranian smuggling of weapons has fanned the flames of war in Yemen.

They also accuse Al Houthis of hijacking aid supplies meant for civilians.

In the coming days, the United States will discuss several options for UN Security Council action against Iran such as sanctions for violating the arms embargo on Yemen.

During a council meeting on Iran on Tuesday, US ambassador to the UN Nikki Haley drew a list of possible measures that immediately drew strong reservations from Russia, which has friendly relations with Tehran.

The United States has accused Iran of arming Al Houthi militants in Yemen, providing missiles that have been fired at Saudi Arabia, a key US ally.

On Tuesday, Saudi Arabia shot down over Riyadh a ballistic missile fired by Al Houthis, in a strike that Haley said “bears all the hallmarks of previous attacks using Iranian-provided weapons.”

The missile attack on Riyadh should be a “flashing red siren for this council,” she said.

Internationally-recognised Yemeni President Abd Rabbo Mansour Hadi came to power in early 2012 after massive Arab Spring protests ousted Ali Abdullah Saleh.

In 2014, an Al Houthi-led coup placed Hadi under house arrest.

Hadi was able to escape and has since shifted government headquarters to the southern port city of Aden from where he has led an offensive to liberate Al Houthi-occupied territories.

With help from the Saudi-led Arab coalition, the Yemeni army has liberated 85 per cent of Yemeni territory, but Al Houthis still control the capital, Sana’a, and most northern provinces including Hodeida, Ibb, Mahweet, Yareem, Amran, Baydha and Hajja.