{"id":24859,"date":"2026-07-16T16:04:17","date_gmt":"2026-07-16T13:04:17","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/ukrmedia.news\/?p=24859"},"modified":"2026-07-16T16:04:17","modified_gmt":"2026-07-16T13:04:17","slug":"iran-houthi-bab-el-mandeb-blockade","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/ukrmedia.news\/en\/world\/iran-houthi-bab-el-mandeb-blockade\/","title":{"rendered":"Iran has asked the Houthis to be prepared to close the Bab el-Mandeb Strait"},"content":{"rendered":"<p class=\"news-lead\">Iran has called on the Yemeni Houthi movement to be prepared to close the Bab el-Mandeb Strait \u2014 the entrance to the Red Sea \u2014 should the United States launch an attack on the Islamic Republic\u2019s energy infrastructure.<\/p>\n<div class=\"news-summary-box\">\n<p><strong>Briefly about the main points<\/strong><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Iran has asked the Houthis to prepare for a blockade of the strait.<\/li>\n<li>Tehran\u2019s condition is a possible US strike on its energy infrastructure.<\/li>\n<li>The source reported that missiles and drones had been deployed near the strait.<\/li>\n<li>The Red Sea currently accounts for around 7% of global energy supplies.<\/li>\n<li>Saudi Arabia has channelled 70% of its energy exports via Yanbu.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/div>\n<h2>Tehran\u2019s request and the Houthis\u2019 willingness<\/h2>\n<p>The idea was discussed by Iran\u2019s leadership, and the message has already been passed on to Tehran\u2019s allies in Yemen, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.reuters.com\/world\/middle-east\/iran-tells-houthis-close-red-sea-gateway-if-us-hits-power-network-sources-say-2026-07-16\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">told<\/a> Reuters cited two Iranian sources and one regional source. They did not specify exactly how the message was conveyed or whether it was received following the US President\u2019s statement <strong>Donald Trump<\/strong> on Tuesday regarding a possible attack on Iran\u2019s energy infrastructure.<\/p>\n<p>A source close to the Houthis told the agency that the movement had completed its preparations for attacks on shipping. According to the source, missiles and drones have been deployed in Yemen\u2019s highland regions near Hodeidah and the Gulf of Aden, and the group is awaiting orders to launch the operation.<\/p>\n<h2>Two key maritime routes are under threat<\/h2>\n<p>Following Iran\u2019s closure <a href=\"https:\/\/ukrmedia.news\/world\/iran-zakryttya-ormuzkoyi-protoky-pislya-udariv-ssha\/\">Strait of Hormuz<\/a> Significant volumes of oil from the Persian Gulf have begun to be channelled to the Red Sea via the Saudi pipeline. Currently, approximately 7% of the world\u2019s energy supplies pass through this waterway.<\/p>\n<p>If the Houthis start attacking ships or ports in the Red Sea, the two main routes for Middle Eastern oil exports could be disrupted simultaneously. This could exacerbate the existing energy crisis that arose following the closure of the Strait of Hormuz.<\/p>\n<p>The risks are particularly relevant to Saudi Arabia: according to the agency, the kingdom has redirected 70% of its energy exports via its Red Sea port of Yanbu. The spread of hostilities to export infrastructure and shipping would jeopardise the only major alternative route for exporting oil from the region.<\/p>\n<h2>Escalation in Yemen and coordination with Iran<\/h2>\n<p>Tensions surrounding the Houthis have escalated after the group fired missiles at Saudi Arabia on Monday. The Houthis accused the kingdom of bombing an airport under their control. This constitutes a breach of the four-year ceasefire between the parties.<\/p>\n<p>Two regional sources close to Riyadh have stated that Saudi Arabia takes the threats from Iran and the Houthis seriously. According to them, the kingdom\u2019s authorities are aware of closer coordination between the Yemeni movement and Tehran regarding the Red Sea.<\/p>\n<p>Washington claims that Iran has been supplying the Houthis with weapons, funding and training, in particular via \u00ab<a href=\"https:\/\/ukrmedia.news\/world\/hezbolla-vidkidaye-peremirya-livan-boi\/\">Hezbollah<\/a>\u00bb. Tehran has denied these allegations. Although Iran regards the Houthis as part of its regional \u00abaxis of resistance\u00bb, the movement itself has not yet formally entered the conflict between Tehran and Washington.<\/p>\n<h2>The blockade as a means of exerting pressure on the US<\/h2>\n<p>One regional source explained that the Iranian leadership is seeking to raise the potential cost of the conflict to the global economy by jeopardising shipping through the Red Sea and Saudi oil exports. This source described this approach as part of \u00abIranian thinking\u00bb.<\/p>\n<p>In his view, it is possible to disrupt shipping through the narrow strait even without high-precision weapons. Such a scenario, if it were to materialise, could force shipping companies to revert to the longer and more expensive route around Africa \u2014 as has already happened during previous Houthi attacks on shipping during the Gaza war.<\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Iran has asked the Houthis to prepare to close the Bab el-Mandeb Strait should the US attack the country\u2019s energy infrastructure.<\/p>","protected":false},"author":207433346,"featured_media":24858,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"rank_math_description":"\u0406\u0440\u0430\u043d \u043f\u043e\u043f\u0440\u043e\u0441\u0438\u0432 \u0445\u0443\u0441\u0438\u0442\u0456\u0432 \u043f\u0456\u0434\u0433\u043e\u0442\u0443\u0432\u0430\u0442\u0438\u0441\u044f \u0434\u043e \u0437\u0430\u043a\u0440\u0438\u0442\u0442\u044f \u0411\u0430\u0431-\u0435\u043b\u044c-\u041c\u0430\u043d\u0434\u0435\u0431\u0441\u044c\u043a\u043e\u0457 \u043f\u0440\u043e\u0442\u043e\u043a\u0438, \u044f\u043a\u0449\u043e \u0421\u0428\u0410 \u0430\u0442\u0430\u043a\u0443\u044e\u0442\u044c \u0435\u043d\u0435\u0440\u0433\u0435\u0442\u0438\u0447\u043d\u0443 \u0456\u043d\u0444\u0440\u0430\u0441\u0442\u0440\u0443\u043a\u0442\u0443\u0440\u0443 \u043a\u0440\u0430\u0457\u043d\u0438.","rank_math_title":"\u0417\u0430\u043a\u0440\u0438\u0442\u0442\u044f \u0411\u0430\u0431-\u0435\u043b\u044c-\u041c\u0430\u043d\u0434\u0435\u0431\u0441\u044c\u043a\u043e\u0457 \u043f\u0440\u043e\u0442\u043e\u043a\u0438: \u043d\u043e\u0432\u0456 \u0432\u0438\u043c\u043e\u0433\u0438 \u0406\u0440\u0430\u043d\u0443","rank_math_focus_keyword":"\u0417\u0430\u043a\u0440\u0438\u0442\u0442\u044f \u0411\u0430\u0431-\u0435\u043b\u044c-\u041c\u0430\u043d\u0434\u0435\u0431\u0441\u044c\u043a\u043e\u0457 \u043f\u0440\u043e\u0442\u043e\u043a\u0438","td_subtitle":"","subtitle":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[805619],"tags":[806812],"class_list":["post-24859","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-world","tag-blyzkyi-skhid"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/ukrmedia.news\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/24859","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/ukrmedia.news\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/ukrmedia.news\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ukrmedia.news\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/207433346"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ukrmedia.news\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=24859"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/ukrmedia.news\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/24859\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":24860,"href":"https:\/\/ukrmedia.news\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/24859\/revisions\/24860"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ukrmedia.news\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/24858"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/ukrmedia.news\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=24859"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ukrmedia.news\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=24859"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ukrmedia.news\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=24859"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}