Yemen22 September, 20262 min read
Houthis Control Bab Al-Mandeb Strait, Threaten To Attack U.S. Interests If Washington Supports Saudi Arabia
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Houthis now control Bab al-Mandeb strait, threatening Red Sea access. They warned US interests could be attacked if Washington backs Saudi or intervenes.
Bab al-Mandeb and the US
The Houthis took control of the Bab al-Mandeb strait, the entry to the Red Sea, and a military adviser warned that the group would treat any US move there as a red line. Abed Mohammed al-Thawr told AFP in Sanaa, “If the United States dares to intervene militarily with its fleets or attempts to take control of Bab al-Mandab, that is a red line for them and for anyone else... we will fight for it,” framing the threat as a response to Washington’s actions.
Abed Mohamed al-Thawr also warned that “we will consider targets at all American interests around us and will not rule out anything,” if the United States risks supporting Saudi Arabia with airstrikes or air support. The Houthis said they would close Bab al-Mandab “completely to American ships,” while the Anadolu Ajansı opinion piece argued that the Houthis’ control of the Bab al-Mandab Strait “threatens another vital artery of global commerce.”
Saudi airstrikes and civilian toll
Saudi airstrikes in Yemen prompted competing casualty figures, with the Houthi-run Health Ministry saying 24 Yemeni citizens were killed or injured in the past day. The Yemen Health Ministry said the bombings produced “a breakdown of eight martyrs and eleven wounded in Taiz,” while incursions into Al-Jawf claimed two lives and caused injuries to three others.
The Houthis also said Saudi airstrikes killed or wounded 24 civilians in the past 24 hours, and the Free Press Kashmir report added that the ministry’s figures could not be independently confirmed. Saudi authorities did not immediately comment on the reported civilian deaths, while the conflict continued to affect shipping through the Bab el-Mandeb Strait, a key route linking the Red Sea with the Gulf of Aden.
Escalation, displacement, and stakes
The Yemen conflict’s latest escalation was described as leaving an initial toll of at least 150 people dead amid intense aerial bombardments by the Saudi-led coalition and fierce fighting across multiple fronts. teleSUR said the Yemeni Armed Forces launched retaliatory military operations after the offensive, and it reported that the authorities in Sanaa reiterated their commitment to “escalation for escalation” and “blockade for blockade” until the total withdrawal of the international coalition.
The United Nations said the number of displaced people could rise from more than 130,000 currently to more than 230,000 in the coming months, according to ANSA Latina. An Al Jazeera analysis of the Kahboub Mountains battle said controlling the high ground would provide “strategic resilience,” and it quoted Faozi Al-Goidi saying, “The mountains are the natural wall that protects the Houthis’ rear on the coast.”