Multiple outlets, citing Reuters sources, report that Iran has told Yemen’s Houthi movement to stand ready to close the Red Sea oil route through the Bab el-Mandeb Strait if the United States attacks Iranian power infrastructure. The reporting says the proposal has been discussed within Iran’s leadership and conveyed to Iranian allies, including senior sources in Iran and a regional source familiar with the matter. Several sources close to the Houthis say they have already completed preparations for disruption of shipping. These preparations reportedly include positioning missiles and drones near Bab el-Mandeb, a strategic gateway connecting the Red Sea with the Gulf of Aden and the Indian Ocean.
Channel NewsAsia adds that representatives of Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), who are already in Yemen, would control the decision on when to initiate any closure. Saudi Arabia is described by one set of Reuters-cited regional sources as taking the threat seriously. The outlets present the account as a potential escalation tied to any U.S. action against Iranian power-related targets, with the aim of disrupting global energy shipping routes via Bab el-Mandeb.
