Iran tells Houthis to shut crucial Red Sea oil route if US strikes power grid

Sources claim that preparations have been completed by Yemen’s Houthis movement to deploy missiles and drones near Bab el-Mandeb strait

Yemen’s Houthis movement has been asked to prepare to close the Red Sea oil route by Iran if the United States continues its airstrikes on Iranian power infrastructure.

This could form a new threat to global energy supplies. Reuters reports that the proposals have been discussed with leaders of the Islamic republic and also passed on to Iran’s Houthi allies.

The news agency states the claims came from two senior Iranian ‌sources and a regional source familiar with the matter. It’s unclear whether this happened after President Donald Trump made threats to attack Iranian power infrastructure on Tuesday.

The Houthis, officially known as Ansar Allah (Partisans of God), are an armed political and religious organisation that champions Yemen’s Zaidi Shia Muslim minority. A source close to the movement claimed that preparations to attack shipping by deploying missiles and drones near Bab el-Mandeb strait – the gateway to the Red Sea – have taken place.

The strait is located in Yemen’s highlands overlooking Hodeidah and the Gulf of Aden. A potential closure of the Bab el-Mandeb strait will exacerbate the global energy crisis which followed Iran’s closure of the Hormuz strait.

This would leave the Middle East’s two main oil export routes disrupted at the same time. The same source added that the decision on when the closure will take place will be taken by Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC).

On Monday, the Houthis fired missiles at Saudi Arabia after an airport was allegedly bombed under the country’s control on the same day. This broke a four-year truce in the conflict between the kingdom and the group.

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