Iran Threatens To Close Bab El-Mandeb Strait Through Houthi Control

Iran vowed to close the Bab el-Mandeb Strait if the United States continued its pressure on Tehran.

Supreme Leader adviser Ali Akbar Velayati warned that the unified command views Bab el-Mandeb as it does Hormuz.

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Iran would tap its ally the Houthis to take control of the strait off Yemen's coast.

The Bab el-Mandeb has been a flashpoint since Yemen's Iran-backed Houthis began targeting commercial vessels in 2023.

Crude oil exports transiting the Bab el-Mandeb increased from 5.7 million barrels per day in 2020 to 9.3 million in 2023 before dropping to 4.1 million in 2024.

The Bab el-Mandeb Strait serves as a key transit route for oil shipments moving from the Persian Gulf through the Suez Canal to Europe.

The strait carries roughly 12% of global seaborne trade.

Al Jazeera

The potential closure would compound the disruption caused by Iran's closure of the Strait of Hormuz.

Ships would be forced to reroute around Africa's Cape of Good Hope, adding an estimated 10 to 15 days to journeys.

The closure would increase fuel consumption and shipping costs.

The Houthis' threat complicated Gulf responses to Iran's attacks.

Houthi leader Mohammed Ali Al Houthi told CNN the group would refrain from attacking Saudi ports so long as Riyadh didn’t join the US and Israel in attacking.

Expanding the conflict could drag the Horn of Africa into the war.

An all-out war with the Houthis could leave Yemen unable to import food and medicine supplies.

The humanitarian crisis would likely worsen.