Yemen’s Houthi movement has placed the closure of the Bab al-Mandeb Strait on the table as a response option should the United States launch a ground invasion of Iran. Mohammed Mansour, the Houthis’ deputy information minister, told media that the group conducts this battle in stages and that closing the strait remains among their options. A Houthi military official, Abed al-Thawr, stated that once the group makes the decision to intervene, the first step could involve a declaration of a naval blockade targeting vessels linked to the United States and Israel.
The Bab al-Mandeb Strait sits between Yemen to the northeast and Djibouti and Eritrea to the southwest, connecting the Red Sea to the Gulf of Aden. It measures 29 kilometres at its narrowest point and handles approximately 10 to 12 percent of global maritime trade, including oil shipments from the Gulf bound for Europe via the Suez Canal. Around six to seven million barrels of oil pass through the strait each day.
Iran has blocked the Strait of Hormuz since the war began on February 28, cutting off one-fifth of the world’s oil supply at the source. If the Houthis close Bab al-Mandeb as well, both straits that form the Gulf-to-Europe trade corridor would shut simultaneously, removing additional oil volumes from world markets and forcing vessels to divert around the Cape of Good Hope. Houthi political bureau member Mohammed al-Bukhaiti stated that any closure would target ships linked to countries that engage in hostilities against Iran, Lebanon, Palestine or Iraq.
The Houthis entered the conflict by launching missile and drone strikes on Israel and stated they coordinate with Iran, Lebanon and Iraq. Their military spokesman Yahya Saree warned that the group’s fingers remain on the trigger for direct military intervention and outlined conditions that would activate that decision.
For more news and update, click here to download our mobile app – Veritas Daily
To explore advertising or sponsorship collaborations, click here to contact us
Leave a Reply