Iran has requested Yemen’s Houthi movement to be prepared to close the Bab el-Mandeb Strait, a critical gateway to the Red Sea, if the United States attacks Iranian power infrastructure. This information was reported by Reuters, citing three sources familiar with the discussions.
The proposal has been discussed among Iran’s leadership and communicated to the Houthis, although it is unclear whether this message was relayed before or after U.S. President Donald Trump’s warning on Tuesday about potential strikes on Iran’s power infrastructure.
Houthis Prepared to Target Shipping
A source close to the Houthis informed Reuters that the group has completed preparations to attack commercial shipping by deploying missiles and drones near the Bab el-Mandeb Strait and is awaiting orders to initiate operations. Representatives of Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), already present in Yemen, will decide when to implement any closure of this strategic waterway.
This development follows recent missile attacks by the Houthis on Saudi Arabia, which they claim were in retaliation for an airstrike on an airport under their control, effectively ending a four-year truce between the two parties.
Potential Threat to Global Energy Supplies
The reported plan heightens the risk of simultaneous disruptions to the Middle East’s two key oil export routes, particularly after Iran closed the Strait of Hormuz amid escalating conflict with Israel and the United States in late February. Since that time, a considerable share of Gulf oil exports has been redirected through Saudi Arabia’s Red Sea port of Yanbu via an east-west pipeline. Disruption at Bab el-Mandeb would jeopardize one of the last remaining alternative export routes, exacerbating the global energy crisis.
The Red Sea currently accounts for about seven percent of global energy supplies, making it a crucial alternative route for Gulf producers. Analysts caution that attacks on shipping or energy infrastructure along this route would have far-reaching consequences beyond the region. Torbjorn Soltvedt, principal Middle East analyst at risk intelligence firm Verisk Maplecroft, emphasized that renewed confrontations between the Houthis and Saudi Arabia occur at a particularly sensitive time. He stated, “If fighting intensifies and spills over into Red Sea export infrastructure and shipping, it will threaten the only major alternative route for oil exports from the region.”
Saudi Arabia Monitoring Developments
Regional sources have indicated that Saudi Arabia is taking the threats seriously and suspects that the Houthis are closely coordinating with Tehran regarding the future of Red Sea shipping. Iran’s leadership perceives the threat to the Red Sea as a means to increase economic pressure on Washington by raising the potential costs to global trade and energy markets. Closing the Bab el-Mandeb Strait would not necessitate sophisticated weaponry; a source noted that “anybody with a firing rifle can interrupt the shipping.” Iran regards the Houthis as part of its regional “Axis of Resistance,” alongside Lebanon’s Hezbollah and Iraqi Shi’ite armed groups. The United States has long accused Tehran of supplying the Houthis with weapons, funding, and training, which Iran denies.
